When the transatlantic slave trade took Africans to America, they brought with them their powerful ancestral practices and spiritual traditions, collectively known as Voodoo. These traditions continue to offer modern-day Black Americans a source of strength and solace today.

Despite spooky stories, the religious practice is deeply focused on justice and community, which doesn’t include “turning the other cheek.” This religious focus on justice and harmony followers to use their knowledge to protect themselves, which had real-world political consequences. But slave owners and lawmakers systematically tried to snuff out the practice.

The demonization of Voodoo in America started in the 19th century, when white slave owners in America labeled Voodoo as a pagan practice, which fueled the fervor of white Christians seeking to cleanse the nation of pagan influences. While the religion was never banned, states instituted slave codes–laws restricting how slaves could gather and limitations on their education. These laws, like the 1848 Georgia Slave code, prevented an enslaved person from teaching any religion–regardless of its origin–unless there were seven or fewer enslaved people present.

Later, it was affirmed for decades in Hollywood depictions where Voodoo was only shown as a scary, ritualistic and sometimes violent religion instead of the community and family-based practice modern-day followers practice.

“Vodoou was painted as bad because it was used for the Haitian Revolution, and the powers that be didn’t want other Caribbean and Latin countries using Voodoo to become free,” said Sandra Calixte, a Chicago-based Haitian-American Voodoo healer.

A new study by the Public Religion Research Institute reveals that the African-rooted religion is still deeply misunderstood in America. The August 2023 study involving 1,000 Americans was the first time the research institute included questions about Voodoo and Santeria in its section about perceptions of other religions in the American Values Survey, which the organization has held annually for 14 years.

Proponents estimate there are some 1.5 million adherents of Voodoo in the United States, where its main centers are New Orleans, Chicago, Philadelphia and Brooklyn, according to reporting from Chicago Tribune in 2001. These were the latest numbers Reckon was able to find on US adherents. Around the world, around 60 million people practice Voodoo, with about half of practitioners living in West Africa, where the religion originated, according to 2004 estimates by the National Geographic.

The PRRI study also examined how these stereotypes, decades of media misinformation and a lack of accurate, up-to-date data on the practice continue to plague the American understanding of these centuries-old spiritual practices. What they found was evidence of the continued impact of racism and misinformation on Americans’ perceptions of Voodoo.

Both PRRI and Calixte said it’s important for people to understand the origins of Voodoo stigma and to get accurate information about the practice.

“Our survey suggests that scholarly research about the racist origins of the stereotypes against these religions is not reaching the public and/or is not changing public opinions. Many continue to associate African diaspora religions with black magic or witchcraft, and most would not consider them religions at all,” authors of the public religion institute study  said in its brief on the survey.

What is Voodoo? 3 fast facts

1. It’s rooted in resilience

Enslaved Africans, ripped from their homeland and stripped of their cultural identity, clung to the whispers of their ancestors, their spiritual beliefs that remained a deep part of their identity despite hardship.

This ancestral tapestry, known as Voodoo or Vodou in its Haitian form, became a source of solace, strength, and hope in the face of abuse in a new, unfamiliar place.

Like during the Haitian Revolution, African slaves used their knowledge of the earth gained through herbalist Voodoo practice to poison their white owners–a practice that started on slave ships before Africans made it to America.

2. It’s not dark magic

Voodoo is not about curses, zombies, or dark magic. It’s a celebration of life, a connection to the spirits (loas) who guide and protect, and a pathway to healing and balance.

The survey found 64% of respondents believed people who follow the Voodoo religion are more likely than the average person to practice black magic.

While black magic, which involves invoking evil spirits for evil purposes, is practiced by some practitioners of African religions, it is not the norm, Calixte said. The real root of Voodoo is

This association of Voodoo and evil has deeper, more racist roots than a fear of black magic. Calixte said it’s been part of her practice to remove the stigma surrounding African religions and help people understand why Voodoo became taboo.

“At the end of the day, it was a Black country (to) use spiritualism to become free. And that’s very, very dangerous,” Calixte said. “Other governments didn’t want other Caribbean and Latin countries, using Voodoo as well, to become free.”

3. It’s a tapestry of traditions

Brought by enslaved Africans to the Americas, Voodoo blended with Catholicism and indigenous practices in places like Louisiana to create a unique spiritual expression. This practice of blending Christianity with Voodoo was common, and was practiced by well-known spiritual leaders like Marie Laveau, who is also known as the “Voodoo Queen of New Orleans.”

In Cuba, Santeria, another vibrant Afro-Cuban religion, shares some similarities with Voodoo, but also has its own distinct practices and rituals. Around 10 million people practice Santeria worldwide, with an estimated up to 5 million in the United States, according to data from the Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion.

Voodoo is rich with various traditions rooted in liberation, as it was used during the Haitian Revolution. It continues to be an important part of African American spirituality, but the information most Americans have been presented about the practice aren’t entirely true.

Dispelling myths

The negative portrayal of Santeria and Voodoo has been perpetuated through media representations. Popular culture, from films like The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988) which focuses on a special drug rumored to be used by black magic priests in Haiti to turn people into zombies, to music videos like rock band Godsmack’s “Voodoo,” which depicts dark magic rituals involving zombies and physical violence, has perpetuated stereotypes of Santeria and Voodoo as being about curses, sacrifices and dark magic.

Such media depictions have included bloody sacrifices, scary witch doctors and chaotic possession rituals. In the late 19th century, white-owned newspapers in Louisiana also focused on the grotesque, with emphasis on white women’s involvement..

These stereotypes have real-world, present-day consequences including discrimination in housing, employment, child custody cases, vandalism and hate crimes.

To clear up some of the questions about what is fact and what is Hollywood fiction, here are some common of the most myths about Voodoo:

1. Voodoo involves devil worship or calling on the devil for magic

The devil and Voodoo have already been mentioned in this article, but Calixte said the devil or the practice of dark magic is not the norm for her or most people who practice Voodoo.

“Voodoo is supposed to be about spiritual justice and is very much based on balancing relationships. I think that because there’s a few bad seeds, people only focus on those bad seeds,” Calixte said.

2. Voodoo ancestor worship is making your dead relatives your new “God”

While, yes, ancestor worship is a very important part of the Voodoo practice, it is not the only part. Even though speaking with ancestors is very important, ancestors are not God.

“You allow yourself to be open to God or spirit and your ancestors because they’re all here to help you. Right? The idea with ancestor worship is that God is busy, so they’re here to help you first,” Calixte explained.

The connection to God or spirit and the earth remains deeply important, but seeking support from your ancestors can be a transformative and affirming experience for people, she explained.

3. Voodoo is witchcraft

Calixte said a common response she gets to people who learn she practices Voodoo is immediate fear that she will use her spirituality to curse them with dark magic. However, the reality about Voodoo is the opposite, she explained.

“When used the right way, Voodoo is protection against witchcraft,” she said. “I think the part that scares people about Voodoo is it’s not a turn-the-other-cheek religion, like if you do me wrong, then I have every right to protect myself and send something back or do what I have to do to protect myself.

Dispelling the stigma around Voodoo requires education, especially education about the reasons why Voodoo became the boogeyman in the first place.

“I’ve felt a call from spirit in the last few months to really break the stigma around Voodoo,” Calixte said. “For a lot of us, we are still coming out with the word ‘Voodoo.’ Even using the word still feels like a big step toward releasing that stigma and fear.”

What’s next to remove the stigma?

For people who are looking to learn more about Voodoo and their own ancestral connections, there are many resources available.

Calixte encouraged people who are curious about African religions to read up on the practice or explore a museum such as the New Orleans Voodoo Museum in Louisiana or the Haitian American Museum in Chicago, where she said she found the community and resources she was looking for when she first started exploring her spirituality.

Calixte warns that because Voodoo is a “closed practice,” it should only be practiced by people of the African diaspora.

“If you are a person that is not of color and are coming into it, like you really have to make sure that your reasoning is pure, because very quickly, in these types of practices you will be found if you are not coming in with pure intentions,” she said.