A Decade of Legal Protection

July 19, 2004

On June 11, 1993 The United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye which had been unfairly singled out by the City of Hialeah for its use of animal sacrifice in religious rites. I say singled out because Santeria (Orisa) devotees are not the only religion that use a "ritualistic" method of slaughtering animals. In fact many health conscious people look for the Judaic "Kosher" seal of approval affixed to many food products including meat - because it guarantees the meat has been slaughtered according to Jewish religious taboos. So in this way the government finally said we can not deem one tradition worthy of protection and the other fair game for witch hunters.

This victory for the Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye was a victory for all Orisa worshippers in the U.S. as it protected not only the rite of animal sacrifice but our religion in general. It had taken nearly 500 years for American to finally view the indigenous faiths of Africans as equal and worthy of protection under the same laws that look after their own traditions.

However this does not change the fact that many law enforcement officers, local governments, religious terrorists, neighborhood associations and businesses continue to illegally persecute Ol'Orisa and Ab'Orisa. We must remain vigilent or lose these rights!

U.S. Supreme Court: CHURCH OF LUKUMI BABALU AYE v. CITY OF HIALEAH