Editing Demographics of Haiti (section)

==Religion==
{{main article|Religion in Haiti|Haitian Vodou}}
The most common religions in Haiti are [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholicism]], [[Pentecostalism]] and [[Baptist]]. The state religion is [[Roman Catholicism]], which is professed by 55–60% of the population. 30–35% of Haitians practice [[Protestantism]], mostly [[Pentecostalism]], which arrived in Haiti in the 1970s. Almost 99% of Haitians claim to be a part of at least one religion, with a fraction of them practicing some part of [[Haitian Vodou|Vodou]] along with another religion.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|title=Religious Beliefs In Haiti|language=en|work=WorldAtlas|url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/religious-beliefs-in-haiti.html|access-date=2018-03-27}}</ref>

Vodou bears similarities to Cuban [[Santería|Santeria]] due to the large Cuban population in Haiti.<ref name=":02">{{Cite news|url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/religious-beliefs-in-haiti.html|title=Religious Beliefs In Haiti|work=WorldAtlas|access-date=2018-03-27|language=en}}</ref> The practice of Vodou revolves around family spirits called ''Lwa'' that protect children. To repay the spirits, children perform two ceremonies where the ''Lwa'' are given gifts like food and drinks. The timing of the ceremonies depends on the monetary status of the family performing them; poorer families try to save money, waiting until there is a need to perform the rituals.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://countrystudies.us/haiti/33.htm|title=Haiti - RELIGION|website=countrystudies.us|access-date=2018-03-27}}</ref> The practice of Vodou is rare among the urban elite.

Modern day Vodou has been shaped by both Protestant and Catholic Christianity. Under the rule of the Catholic French, the population was not allowed to practice [[Haitian Vodou|Vodou]]. However, they were occasionally allowed to have dances on the weekends. These dances were actually disguised Vodou services. The underground practice of Vodou continued until Haiti gained its independence in 1804. Most Haitians see practicing both Vodou and Christianity as normal due to their significant similarities. The Catholic Church, however, was not always as accepting of Vodou. In 1941–42, a [[Religious war|holy war]] was declared against Vodou, leading to the deaths of many high level religious officials in the Vodou religion. Persecution of the religion largely ended in 1950 when the Catholics gave up trying to prosecute those who practiced Vodou. Protestants, however, are still critical of the religion, often describing it as "devil worship".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://faculty.webster.edu/corbetre/haiti/voodoo/overview.htm|title=Haiti: Introduction to Voodoo|website=faculty.webster.edu|access-date=2018-04-09}}</ref>

A fictionalized version of Vodou, commonly called "voodoo", has been used in American movies and by authors such as [[H. P. Lovecraft|H.P. Lovecraft]]. Vodou and voodoo are not conceptually the same, although the idea of "voodoo" lives on in American pop culture.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=McGee|first=Adam|date=2012|title=Haitian Vodou and voodoo: Imagined religion and popular culture|url=https://scholar.harvard.edu/amcgee/publications/haitian-vodou-and-voodoo-imagined-religion-and-popular-culture|journal=Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses|volume=41|issue=2|pages=231–256|doi=10.1177/0008429812441311|s2cid=40197372}}</ref>