Core tenet of Haitian Vodou
To serve is the religion.
Sèvis: the lwa are fed, saluted, danced, and honored — and in return they hold up the lives of those who serve.
Understanding it — context, not catechism: how this passage is held
The verb Haitians use is sèvi lwa — to serve the spirits — and it captures the religion better than any noun. Vodou has no creed to affirm, no scripture, and no conversion: it has obligations, meals prepared correctly, drums played correctly, and relationships maintained across generations. The lwa are inherited with the family and the land, and neglecting them is understood to have consequences in ordinary life rather than in an afterlife.
The same ground, other faiths
claims that share this one's ideas
Hanuman leaps the strait.
Hinduism · story
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Work done in a spirit of service is worship.
The Bahá'í Faith
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The alms round.
Buddhism · rite
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T
The yakshis.
Jainism · figure
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Repairing the world is human work.
Judaism
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The image is permitted — and the church fought a civil war to decide it.
Christianity
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