The Religious Discourse Between Santeria And Protestantism

Religion is a system of several characteristics combined together to form a dynamic, living reality. These characteristics are sacred texts and writings, ethics, rituals and ceremonies and beliefs and believers. These characteristics are established in both immanent and transcendent worldviews.

Martin begins by demonstrating the difficulty of defining religion, instead opting for a colloquial use. From this base, he moves outward, primarily focusing on the class structure of society, demonstrating how people are formed by insider/outsider

“She walks, she talks, she cleans, she works, she IS, but she is NOT, all at once. She is here, but part of her is elsewhere for eternity” (Anonymous). This quote by an anonymous person illustrates a woman who is rooted in who she is but dreams to be someone else. She dreams to be another person, far away from her dreary life. Sandra Cisneros establishes that many young girls within the Hispanic culture represented in The House on Mango Street are forced into roles they do not wish to take, resulting in a loss of identity and ultimately, a sense of powerlessness in the girl without anyone to show her how to be powerful.

I sat down at my kitchen table with Michael Bruxvoort, a friend and fellow Tar Heel at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on October 25th, 2015. We laughed and talked about his journey through life and all the memories, obstacles and pleasures along the way. Among the many topics we spoke about, the ones that seemed most relevant to him and myself were: the family dynamics of religion within his household, his process of religion through secular spaces and lastly, his transition to Chapel Hill, NC and making it his home. Our conversation through Michael 's life shows how his faith has shaped him to be the man he is today. Through this paper, I will explain and analyze these topics in hopes of better understanding geographies of religion.

Modern practitioners of Santeria may be attracted to the religion for a variety of reasons, notable among which are curiosity with secret rituals and the longing among many immigrants and people of color to get in touch with Caribbean and African roots. What each specific individual wants from a religion is difficult to generalize upon, but Santeria offers a way for people to achieve harmony in their lives through communication with and obedience to orishas, the divine beings that act as intermediaries between humans and the Supreme Being, Olodumare. Santeria teaches how to know and appease the specific desires of a pantheon of orishas who alert devotees to problems in their lives and protect them from harm. In

In “Chango’s Fire” Ernesto Quinonez shows Julio’s battle between his Pentecostal faith and Santeria, all the while addressing gentrification in the Puerto Rican community. Julio’s journey from his Pentecostal upbringing to Santeria illustrations through Julio’s eyes what his religion meant to him growing up and what made him decide to stop indulging in said religion. When Julio began setting fires he became a part of the problem with gentrification and it was his belief in Santeria that allowed him to discourse from aiding in gentrification.

Buried in the culture and history of Cuba lies the religious traditions that have blended into the creation of Santeria. Santeria is a complex religion made up of West African, Caribbean, and Roman Catholic influences blurred into one. In Santeria the practices and beliefs are passed down from generation to generation through the use of "patakis." The "patakis" were parables used by Santeria followers to provide guidance and insight to those in need of advice. One of the most famous patakis is the story of the relationship between Chango and Yemaya. This pataki can be found in Romulo Lachatanere's collection, Afro-Cuban Myths: Yemaya and Other Orishas. Chango and Yemaya are orishas in the Santeria religion. The relationship between Chango and Yemaya can be seen in The Messenger's main characters, Aida and Enrico. Yemaya's confusion between motherly love and being Chango's lover, shapes their "children's" relationship, as Aida and Enrico's relationship also change in a similar manner.

Even though there has been some faith denominations within the Hispanic community in the United States, but the church does influences the “family life and events that go on within the community which gives spiritual meaning to the Hispanic culture” (Clutter & Nieto, n.d.).

Nye discusses the term “religion” twice as a noun, once as an adjective, and once as a verb. One noun represents religion as a “universal” aspect of humanity, the other noun signifies a specific religion, the adjective form describes a behavior or experience, and the verb is the act of practicing, itself. The various meanings of the term “religion” as demonstrated by these parts of speech set up the basis for the fact that religion has a multitude of implications. Nye focuses on these complexities, and, in particular, draws attention to religion’s variations cross-culturally. He writes how even within the same religion, religious practices and beliefs can differ greatly. He also explains how the word “religion” itself is difficult to translate into other languages, and some cultures do not even have a word for it. Nevertheless, Nye argues that, rather than the as a term, religion can be translated globally in terms of the kind of life it prescribes.

“Religion is a ritualized system of beliefs and practices related to things defined as sacred by an organized community of believers.” (Basirico et.al. 379). Religion is an important element in the society because it influences the way individuals act and think. It has shaped the relationship and bonding among families as well as influenced the decision made in economics and politics. Religion in general has contributed to shape a society and a government structure which will influence the way the individuals under certain governmental structure behave. Sociologists are interested in religion mainly because religious belief is heavily rooted in individuals’ lives and it helps sociologists to interpret human’s actions, expression, and

The first picture shows a church that is full of paintings and sculptures, this is a photo of the Catholic Church. In the Catholic Church they worshiped relics and used many statues and other pieces of art. Along with the use of relics, the Catholic Church used the bible to teach and preach about God, whereas the protestant Church did not. The second picture is of a church that is mostly empty, this shows the protestant church, because they did not use relics and they focused on their relations with god.

In Langston Hughes 's autobiographical anecdote, “Salvation,” the author reflects on his childhood, and also examines the basis on which his religious views were founded. Hughes 's nonfiction piece, written in adulthood, allows him to look back on his past and reconsider what he learned about salvation, as well as organized religion and conformity, as a child. Because of this inquiry, he begins to question the ways in which adults pressure young people to conform to their views of religion, even without having the deep feeling of faith required. When people are young, they are often asked to conform to roles that they don’t really understand or think deeply about, and religious duty is thus carried on without a lot of free will. Langston Hughes divulges the hypocrisy and the fraudulent faith of the Church and its indoctrinated members through irony and his own indoctrination into his damning salvation. The church service pressures and bullies young Hughes into falsifying his salvation. This ceremony proves that the church values tradition over faith.

Religion is a major foundation for many cultures. It is present all over the world in many different shapes and forms. But all religions have one thing in common, communality. Naturally, with rituals such as congregation people of religion are brought together. This community worships together, but this relationship extends further than the confines of a church. Members of the same church, or religion, have the same core values, and these commonalities result in a community that would not have otherwise existed. When there is a disregard for religion, there is a loss of community and thus a step

Kimball states, “Religion is a central feature of human life. We all see many indications of it every day, and we all know it when we see it." (Kimball 15). Totems, witchcraft, liberalism, Japanese tea ceremonies, nationalism, sports, and a lot of other institutions treated under the rubric religion according to the religious studies literature. Comparable to Theravada Buddhism and Confucianism, if one tries to limit the meaning of the religion faith in God or gods then certain belief systems that conviction called religions for a fact. If the value adds belief systems, then all sorts of practices go down under the definition of religion.

Like in the earlier years, it can be seen in this story that Christianity was the most dominant and highly accepted religion in Jamaica. Having contrasting beliefs and practices, individuals would be shunned and ostracized. The author illustrates this idea by showing how Darren’s passionate beliefs in Rastafarianism had resulted in him being kicked out of his house. He was told to “never to come back until he had given up that Rasta foolishness.” Today, the Caribbean has become religiously diverse with a tolerance for different