Annotations for Subject-headings: Santeria

This is Maria Hinojosa. It's estimated that in the United States alone, there may be as many as a million practitioners of the religious tradition known as Santería. The Afro-Cuban religion, whose followers turn for guidance to deities called Orishas, recently came into the spotlight when the US Supreme Court ruled that Santería's practice of sacrificing animals, such as roosters, is protected by the freedom of religion clause of the First Amendment of the US Constitution. With us from Miami to speak about that ruling and what it means to practitioners of Santería is anthropologist Mercedes Sandoval, author of several books on Santería and an expert on Afro-Cuban religions. Welcome to Latino USA, Mercedes.

Thank you very much.

Now the ritual sacrifice of animals for the Orishas or the saints was banned in the Florida city of Hialeah in 1987. What was the impact of that ban, and how do you think things are going to change with this Supreme Court ruling?

Since the very moment that the Supreme Court, for instance, has lifted that ban, it means that santerians are not going to be persecuted for sacrificing animals, and it takes that stigma out, and I hope that the authority will be more interested in persecuting real criminals than people that are practicing a religion that doesn't have to have any connotation of antisocial behavior.

Were people in fact persecuted because of practicing animal sacrifice?

Not really, but they could have. Sometimes they were arrested not only because of that ban, but because of complaints that the authorities received from different association for the defense of animals, and so, or for neighbors that were nervous. You have to have in mind that there is a lot of other repercussions outside of the actual sacrificing of animals.

Now in Spanish, the word Santería means the way of the saints, and in fact, the religion has a very holistic spiritual interpretation of human beings and their environment, their surroundings. But in fact, many misconceptions exist about Santería, that it's like a black magic or it's voodoo. How much do you think those misconceptions played into the original banning of animal sacrifice in Hialeah, and how much do those misconceptions still exist?

Well, first of all, Santería, does have a reputation. It is an African religion. A lot of the rituals are carried out in a way that is practically secret. Then, there is some reliance in magical practice, much more so than other more European type of religious systems, and therefore a lot of people go to this religious system looking for protection. And in some instances magical practices are, try to be used to protect yourself and even to attack an enemy. This is actually true. However, I believe that because it is an unknown religion, because it has an African origin, they have been misunderstood and suffered a lot of discrimination.

Do you think that the Supreme Court ruling, which basically is now protecting the sacrifice of animals under the First Amendment, the freedom of religion clause, do you think that this is going to have an impact on how people see Santería and how people see the issue of animal sacrifice in this country?

Yes, I believe that. I believe that first of all, it has a practical impact. It gets the authorities off the back of the santeros. All right? That's very important. I think it legitimizes their practices. That's what it's doing. If the supreme law of the land takes off the ban, it's legitimizing these religious practices, and then Santería will not be in any way associated with satanism. That has nothing to do with Santería.

Thank you very much, Mercedes Sandoval, who is an anthropologist and an author of several books on Santería and is an expert on Afro-Cuban religions.