Voodoo!

It would probably be no exaggeration to say that Vodoun, (Vodun, Vodou) the traditional religion of Haiti, is one of the most misunderstood religions of all time. The persecution of Vodoun began when French slave owners, suspicious and highly afraid of practices unlike anything in their limited experience, outlawed the religion in Haiti. (In retrospect, they were probably right to be frightened- Vodou played a large part in Haiti's successful slave rebellion) Hollywood hasn't done much to rectify the issue, producing lurid tales of zombies, evil sorcery, and ritual murder, which reinforces the Western association of voodoo to images of black magic, curses, zombies, sticking pins in dolls, and human sacrifice. (The Serpent and the Rainbow ) Great movie by the way.
Because of misunderstandings about the nature of Vodoun, many attempts have been made to rid the world of this "demonic" religion. The use of magic and the practice of trance possession is very alien and even intimidating to many people raised in Christian traditions- the Loas are seen as demonic rather than divine, symbols misinterpreted. During the thirties, mass persecution intended to rid Voudoun from the world was unsuccessful. In 1996, Vodoun was declared the official religion of Benin, its land of origin.

"Voodoo" as we know it today originated with African slaves in Haiti; traditional Dahomey regional practices were blended with other African traditions, with elements of Masonry, ritual magick, and Catholicism, creating a unique faith that has survived some of the worst persecutions. The word 'voodoo' is a corruption of the word 'vodun,' a word that means 'god' or 'spirit' in the West African Fon language.

Vodoun traditionally embodies two traditions- obeah, or folk magic, also known colloquially in America as 'hoodoo,' and the ancient African worship of the Loa, an initiatory religious system. The primary worship practice in Vodoun is through possession, whereby the Loas or ancestors are enticed to inhabit or "mount" the bodies of worshippers, using their bodies and voices to communicate with devotees. This practice is the true Vodoun, the traditional ancestral root of the religion.