Santería , also known as Regla de Ocha, Regla Lucumí, or Lucumí, is an Afro-Caribbean religion that developed in Cuba during the late 19th century. It arose amid a process of syncretism between the traditional See more

Olodumare and the oricha
Santería teaches the existence of an overarching divinity, known as Olodumare, Olofi, or Olorun. Practitioners believe that this divinity created … See more

Background
After the Spanish Empire conquered Cuba, the island's Arawak and Ciboney populations dramatically declined. To provide a new labor … See more

By the late 1980s, Santería had received considerable interest from established Christian churches, health professionals, and social scientists. … See more

The term Santería translates into English as the "way of the saints". This term was first used by scholarly commentators in the 1930s and later spread among the religion's practitioners themselves. It has become the most popular name for the religion, although … See more

Santería is a practice-oriented religion; ritual correctness is considered more important than belief. It has an elaborate system of ritual, with … See more

The scholars of religion Anibal Argüelles Mederos and Ileana Hodge Limonta estimated that in the early 21st century around 8% of … See more