Pat Robertson/Haiti/Voodoo

Pat Robertson, the "voice" of conservative Christians, remarked in the news that he felt the earthquake in Haiti was God's retribution for a voodoo "pact with the devil." I believe Mr. Robertson's remarks were cruel and discriminatory and very hurtful especially in light of the suffering the Haitian people are currently suffering. Mr. Robertson said that the earthquake was God's revenge for a pact Haitian slaves made with the devil to overthrow French colonists in the late 1700's.
What happened according to historical record was "that there was a voodoo ceremony where the symbol of freedom sang out, which was the sound of the conch shell trumpet spurring slaves to rebel against French coffee and sugar plantation owners in 1791." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haitian_Voodoo). It was the call for and the beginning of a successful slave revolt and it began with a voodoo ceremony.
I am sad for all that has happened to the people of Haiti. And saying that, I realize that I know very little about the country and even less about what Voodoo, a major religious practice in Haiti, is about. What is Haitian Voodoo about and what do its followers believe in?
Reading about Haitian Voodoo I've learned that Voodoo is a religion, a complex spirituality that comes from religious ideas which came over from Africa during the slavery era and with the passing of time and traditions, meshed together with the religious rituals from the Catholic missionaries, the Haitian culture and the African influences.
A human being has both a physical body and a soul or spirit and when a person dies, the two separate. The spirit of the individual slips away and must be reclaimed by a priest in a ceremony, usually after a day and a year in Haiti. This is one reason with the high number of deaths in Haiti, many people fear that their loved ones' spirits will never be at peace because they weren't properly buried or be reclaimed accordingly to tradition. In this time of great tragedy, many Haitian people need to find comfort and peace in their faith, whether it be Voodoo or Christianity, and do not need to be condemned for their beliefs.

--- DJS