Page 456 - Essencials of Sociology

Types of religious Groups 429

Cultural Diversity in the united States

Human Heads and animal blood:
Testing the Limits of Tolerance

As the U.S. customs officials looked over the line of people
U.S.A.
who had just gotten off the plane from Haiti, there was U.S.A.
nothing to make this particular woman stand out. She would
have passed through without a problem, except for one
thing: A routine search turned up something that struck the
custom agents as somewhat unusual—a human head.
The head had teeth, hair, pieces
of skin, and some dirt. It had evi-
dently been dug up from some passed a law against the sacrifice
grave, probably in Haiti. of animals within the city limits.
The 30-year-old woman, The Santeros appealed to the
who lives in Florida, practiced U.S. Supreme Court, claiming
voodoo. The head was for her discrimination, because the law
religious rituals. was directed against them. The
The woman was arrested. Court ruled in their favor.
Her crime? Not filing a City officials of Euless, Texas,
report that she was carrying were shocked when they learned
“organic material” (“Mujer that Jose Merced was sacrificing
con Cabeza . . .” 2006). goats in his home. They sent
* * * * * in the police (Associated Press
The Santeros from Cuba who 2009). Merced appealed to the
live in Florida sacrifice animals. federal circuit court, saying that
They meet in apartments, where, Animal sacrifice is part of many religions. This man in the officials were violating his
following a Yoruba religion, they Pakistan is transporting a goat to be sacrificed to celebrate rights as a Santeria priest. He can
the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha.
kill goats and chickens. Calling on now sacrifice goats at home.
their gods, they first ask permission to sacrifice the animals.
After sacrificing them, they pour out the animals’ blood, For Your Consideration
which opens and closes the doors of their destiny. They also
cut off the animals’ heads and place them at locations in the ↑ What do you think the limitations on religious freedom
city that represent the four directions of the compass. This should be? Should people be allowed to sacrifice animals as
is done to terrorize their enemies and give them safety. The part of their religious practices?
heads also protect the city from hurricanes and other destruc- ↑ If the Santeros can sacrifice animals, why shouldn’t people
tive forces. who practice voodoo be able to use human heads in their
When city officials in Hialeah, Florida, learned that the rituals if they want to? (Assume that the relatives of the dead
Santeros were planning to build a church in their city, they person have given their permission.)

Each cult (or new religion) is met with rejection on the part of society. Its message
is considered bizarre, its approach to life strange. Its members antagonize the majority,
who are convinced that they have a monopoly on the truth. The new religion may claim
messages from God, visions, visits from angels—some form of enlightenment or seeing
the true way to God. The cult demands intense commitment, and its followers, who are
confronting a hostile world, pull together in a tight circle, separating themselves from
nonbelievers.
Most cults fail. Not many people believe the new message, and the cult fades into
obscurity. Some, however, succeed and make history. Over time, large numbers of peo- sect a religious group larger than a
ple may come to accept the message and become followers of the religion. If this hap- cult that still feels substantial hostil-
pens, the new religion changes from a cult to a sect. ity from and toward society