Voodoo Is A Religion, Haiti's Aristide Decrees (The Globe And Mail)

A news article published 3 May 2003 by The Globe and Mail, a major Canadian national newspaper, reporting an executive decree signed by Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide on 4 April 2003 stating that the state recognizes Vodou as "a religion in its own right." The article reports that the decree gave marriages, baptisms and other services performed by Vodou clergy the same legal registration status as ceremonies performed by Roman Catholic or Protestant clergy, reversing Vodou's longstanding legal disadvantage under French colonial and later Haitian law.