The Common Misconceptions of Afro-Latinx Religions
There’s nothing to fear and everything to learn
“As an Afro-Latino growing up in Honduras, I became exposed to many misunderstandings regarding the Afro-Latinx community and Afro-Latinx culture in the United States, especially our religious experience. Teachers, parents, church, and society told us that the practices of Voodoo, Santeria, Candomblé, and Palo were considered the worship of the devil.
I grew up fearing these religions as evil practices because that fear had been embedded in my subconscious. Later in life, as I studied theology and read books on the history of Afro-Latinx people, my interest in finding the truth grew stronger. The more I learned, the less I feared. It became clear to me that the misunderstanding of Afro-Latinx religion was no coincidence; instead, the fear resulted from a period of African enslavement. The rejection originated in colonial times, which produced a system of racial discrimination toward anything African.” — Ernesto Gamboa Project
Read the entire essay on LEVEL below.