One of the most common questions about African diaspora faiths is how in the world they coexist with Christianity.  It is often said that a good practitioner of Haitian Voudun must also be a good Catholic.  Most people find this extremely confusing because they have been taught by eurocentric Christians that worshipping any deity other than YWH is idolatry.

What most Europeans who observed African and diaspora spirituality don't understand is that the African view of deity differs in crucial ways to the Hebrew or even the Egyptian view.  There isn't a clear geographical division of where the perspectives shift, but from the history and spirituality related artifacts, it seems to be somewhere around the Sudan.

In the more northern to northeastern parts of Africa, lwa and orishas became full fledged deities in their own right, divided into either distinct figures or manifestations of the Supreme Being.

To the Yoruba, Yemalla, Obatala, and Ellegua are created beings, like you and me, only more powerful.  They have actual lives, flaws, shortcomings, and good and bad habits.  To the Egyptians, Isis, Nut, and Osiris were gods and above reproach.

So subsaharan Africans saw the orishas with more objectivity than most Christians view angels, despite the passages in the Bible about how a great many of them fell, and more were seduced into illicit relations with human women.

So when we get into the subject of worship of orishas, what we're really talking about in a truer English translation would be channeling and observance of  their roles: honoring them.

“Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s”  --- Matt. 22:21

So an African understands that everything in the Aye (physical realm) is created, and that as living beings, we are all its children, but we are not so arrogant as to approach this totally unfathomable Being directly with our petty requests for benefits in this life.  We do not know anything about it really, or what its plan is.  So we approach the orishas for our concerns because they are living in the next level of awareness above our own.  They have mastered the dimensions that we have yet to even theorize.

Yet even they are subject to the will of God.  In all the centuries Africans have never forgotten that because this principle is ingrained into our practice no matter where in the world we go.

This is not to say that the way Christianity is practiced by Europeans or the eurocentric is wrong...just that African spirituality is not wrong either.

...but what about Jesus?

Good question.  Now I ask you, what about Jesus being the son of God, born of a virgin, and sacrificing himself for our sins makes African faith a problem?  In the Bible, Jesus is said to have proclaimed himself the messiah, and the only way to God, but he never once told anyone to worship him, much less worship him exclusively.  People decided to do that on their own, and since worshipping him didn't cause them to worship God any less, there was no harm in it.

So the average Christian indulges what some of us like to call, "allowable idolatry".  He put himself forth as an example, a symbol, and a sacrificial lamb, and people decided to worship him because of it.  Since God is unfathomable, people actually do well to have a kind of mediator figure.  For Christians, this is Jesus, and for Jews, it is the hopeful coming messiah.

The orishas in no way replace Jesus Christ.  They don't even take away from his spotlight.  For those who believe he is the messiah, he is the next level above orishas...someone who once had a human form, but was made of an aspect of God.  Some view him as they do Ellegua, the fulfillment of that role, whereas some view him as unique.

The overly exoteric, who go through the motions rather than putting much thought into things, are in danger of idolatry, especially self righteousness, which is self idolatry, are in danger of distraction whether they have orishas or not.  There are many in every belief system who are like this.  Those who do understand however, that there is more to faith than lipservice, won't forget it.

Another side to the question of why there isn't more conflict between Christianity and African faith is that of agnosticism.  An agnostic who doesn't get into the question of existence of God simply because there is no way to fathom God, or even existence itself, understands that anything we think about God, angels, the orishas, etc. are creations of our minds that may or may not be the reality of things.

Since we don't know exactly what the reality of these things is, and can only go on what we observe, guess, and feel, the orishas serve the purpose of symbols and archtypes we can access to help us deal with our concerns.  We can visualize them, and allow ourselves to become fully engrossed with them as characters, to solve problems, or feel more connected to the non physical realms in a way that won't short circuit our minds.

I hope this article helps to explain things for those who have had trouble understanding how someone could be Christian and African without compromising either.

Blessings to you, the reader!