The reading “What is Voodoo? Understanding a Misunderstood Religion” touches on the ideas that we discussed about the dangers of one story. Too often movies and media have depicted the voodoo religion inaccurately. Most people associate voodoo with violence and devil worshiping. People who practice this faith are perceived as withchdoctors, sorcerers or people who seek evil and harm others. This negative perception of voodoo is often a result of racism. Voodoo was first practiced in America and the Caribbean by slaves of African descent, whose culture was both feared and ridiculed.Slaves were not considered fully human. Their religion was dismissed as superstition, their priests were denigrated as witchdoctors, their Gods and Spirits were denounced as evil. This rejection of the unknown and the abnormal has transcended to the present. Also, the degradation of the voodoo religion during colonial times can be associated and explained through the lens of Catholic religiosity, and economic benefits of the time. It would make sense for people who wanted to disassociated themselves from Africans, to reject voodoo as something evil, if they believe that their religion is the true one. This same religious debate was used at the time to make sense of slavery by dehumanizing Africans. Therefore the dangers of one story initiated as a mechanism  to create difference and inequality and has persisted as such in a less depicting manner. This reading is also interesting because it makes an attempt to deconstruct one story, and make sense of the “real story”. A good question for future debate is “Is there a real or adequate story with regards to religion?” also “Is there a real story at all?” 

One particular quote from the reading that touches on this idea is: "To understand what they believe, you have to first understand how a Voodooist sees the world." From this idea it appears as though the author believes that the "true story" can only be told by the people who are making sense out of their own reality through that story. Only Voodoo followers know the true story of Voodoo religion.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/saumya-arya-haas/what-is-vodou_b_827947.html

- this is a link to the full article

I've chosen this article because the Voodoo religion is prominent in Haiti, and is followed by large numbers of people particularly in rural areas.