Freedom of Belief - person who practices different religion wants respect
Essence, Dec, 2000

How this sister wants just a little religious respect from others

He spoke softly when he told me I was going to hell. There was no disdain or malice. Instead he sounded as if he were informing me of some sad truth he felt was his duty to share. "That right there," said my supposedly Afrocentric ex-boyfriend, "is obeah [a West Indian term for sorcery], and the people who practice that religion are going to hell."

The religion in question is the Yoruba faith. It originated in Nigeria, West Africa, and was brought to South and Central America, the Caribbean and the United States via the slave trade. Yoruba is a monotheistic faith whose practitioners worship one Supreme Being, Olofi. We believe, however, that Olofi is comprised of various aspects, which are represented by the different forces in nature. The personifications of these forces are called Orisha. In my faith, Olofi, Orisha and the spirits of the ancestors are the governing forces that rule our lives. By paying homage to each, we maintain spiritual balance and harmony.

I was raised in this faith. In fact, I've been a priestess for 16 years. Initiated at the age of 8, I was given the ache of Obatala, who represents wisdom and creativity. In Yoruba, ache is a term used at the end of prayers, similar to how Christians use amen. But it means much more than that. An initiate's ache confers the power and the ability to make things happen. Over the years, I have found that my religion allows me to fully realize my spiritual and divine purpose. It provides a way for me to do more than pay lip service to living an African-centered existence. It gives me a sense of peace and completion that I have yet to experience elsewhere, including during my brief interlude with Rastafari during my late teens and early twenties. I am grounded in my beliefs. Yet I've had to suffer my share of prejudices--usually from overzealous Christians (be they Baptist or Pentecostal) and even some Rastas, who feel it is their duty to save my soul. I've been told repeatedly that my religion is devil worship and witchcraft. I've been called a pagan and a heathen. My ex-boyfriend even told me that no matter how righteously I lived, I was going to hell unless I acknowledged Jesus Christ as the Savior. I had to ask him if that meant that those Africans who were practicing their religions thousands of years before Christianity even existed (let alone before they were forcibly converted) were doomed to hell? What about the Chinese and others who practice Asian-centered religions? Was he aware that the majority of the world's six billion population is not Christian? I've yet to get an answer.

Painfully, the most self-righteous prejudice I've encountered has been from Black folks who, despite their Afrocentrism and religious fervor, find no contradiction in condemning my choice to practice an African religion. And yet this is not surprising. African slaves were taught by their masters to hate their hair, language, culture and religion, It was one of the ways slave masters maintained control. Some of our ancestors fought to hold on to their spiritual identity by masking their practices in the religious icons of the West. Others adopted Christianity as a means of survival. Unfortunately, many also internalized their masters' fears and prejudices. I understand and respect the decision those ancestors made. I know that their descendants are only carrying on that legacy. Still, I wish they could show me the same respect that I show them.

I think the biggest misconception my critics have is that the nature of our religions is so different. My religious family, or house, is just like many church communities. While Christians take Bible-study classes to learn the basis of Christianity, we take Odu classes to understand the foundation of Yoruba. And in both faiths, we praise and honor God with song and rhythmic movement. We all wish to have a close relationship with our Creator. To acknowledge and honor the divine within us is a goal we all share.

Now when I meet negativity and resistance, I keep in mind the powerful legacy my ancestors have passed on to me--to respect the sacred decision all of us make to reach our spiritual goal, with no judgment or prejudice. And to that I say, "Ache!"

COPYRIGHT 2000 Essence Communications, Inc.