The basis of the African Religions stayed in tact when they were transfered to the New World. The religions changed by identifying with some of the Catholic and the Native American beliefs in the areas that they spread.

In African Religions, there is a universal spirit. It is an "all pervasive vital force." This universal spirit is all and is the source of all things. God is a manefestation of this energy. However, at the top of the African pantheon, there is a top male and female god.

The forces of the universal spirit are divided into five categories. In the first category, there is intelligent life, which contains the supreme being, minor gods, spirits, and living humans. In the second category, there is non-intellegent life, which contains plants and animals. In the third category, there are inanimate objects, which contains stone and metal. In the fourth category, there is space and time, where time focuses on the past and present. In the fifth category, there are the modal forces, which are emotions, creativity, powers, ideas, laughter, fear, beauty, love, and so forth.

In the hierarchy of the divine, first you have God. In the next level, you have the minor gods. Under the minor gods are the high spirits. Then, there is the level where the high ancestors are located. High ancestors are the great heros and saints of your culture. Below the high ancestors is the ancestors of the family. These are your family members that your clan calls upon. At the last level is the human spirit living in the physical world.

Ancestor worship is very important in African religions. In order to achieve personal immortality, your community must keep you a live. They do so by remembering you. So long as you are remembered, you are "alive." This is why the knowledge of the past and story telling is so important to African religions. It preserves the spirit of their people.

Time in the past becomes very important to the African religions because it is the only thing that is certain. You cannot change the past. The past and the present are known as actual time, or Zamani, and the future is known as potential time, or Sasa. The Africans measure time by events, which can be in nature or in the society. For example, time can be measured by the number of moons that have passed or the year of a king's reign. Small increments of time, like exact seconds, are not important.

In Cuba and Central America, the Yoruba "Ife" faith is transfered into Lakumi, Macumbi, and Santaria. The Africans syncretized the Catholic saints with their religion to form Santeria. The orishas, or minor gods, become identified with the saints. Because of Santeria's syncretization with the Catholic faith, it is able to be practiced within churches without much conflict. The orisha word probably comes from the word asha, meaning "religious ceremony," or the word risha, meaning "to see" or "to choose."

Choosing is important in Santeria. The Santero, a priest of Santeria, chooses your orisha for you. The Santero also offers knowledge as to how the initiate, or i yawo, should honor your orisha. Once the initate has taken on an orisha, he or she cannot reverse his or hers decision. Spiritual diplomacy is also central to Santeria. There are also different degrees of contact with the orishas. The lowest level of contact between a Santero initiate and the divine is called addimus.

In the Ife traditions, it is very important to call upon a higher god. By doing so, you are receiving divine essance, known as ashe. In order to make contact with the divine, they cast nuts and shells. The intentions of the orisha are revealed in the divination. However, in order to receive ashe, a sacrifice, or ebbo, must be made.

A duality exists in Santeria as well. The good forces are the orishas and the bad forces are the ajoguns. The power of these spirits can be used in many different forms. Primarily, the power of the ajogun is used to bring about iku (death), arun (dreams), ofo (loss), egbo (paralysis), epe (curse), and prison. Ajogun may happen by faith alone or it can be induced by someone. Basically, ajojun is bad luck.

In Santeria, the ancestors are very important. They are the spirits that work between the humans and God. The ancestors know the history of your people, thus they are very important in Santeria. An initiate may consult the ancestors on a daily basis.

The Bantu tradition from the Congo river area of Africa comes to Cube, northern South America, and Brazil in many forms. The tradition takes on the forms of Kongo, Palo Monte, Xango, and Candomble in the New World. In Brazil, the religion becomes known as Condomble, and in Cuba, it becomes known as Palo Monte. An even higher level of syncretism between Native American and African beliefs exists in Brazil in a Bantu tradition known as Caboclo.

The Bantu tradition has the same concept of a great God, called Nzumki or Oxala, as in Santeria. Also, the Bantu traditions have the same ideas of the orishas, but they call iquices. They call the inquices by different names and they do not syncretize them with the Catholic saints as do the Santeros. Thus, the Bantu traditions are unable to be performed in Catholic churches. In Brazil, Condomble rituals are performed in terreriros, which are places of worship that have been consecrated as sacred. In Cuba, Palo Monte is not performed in terreirors.

The concept of the ancestors is important to the Bantu traditions as well. In the first group of ancestors, you have your blood relatives, which have evolved to become your spiritual ancestors. Each tribe also has its own elemental spirits, or Simbi, which they identify with. Sometimes, the elemental spirits will become personified and take on the identify of a tribal spirit.

A Palo Monte priest may become a Santero, depending on what they are doing. Both the Palo Monte priest and the Santero capture ashe. However, in Santeria, the priests do not capture evil spirits. One of the focuses of the Palo Monte priest is to enter the evil part of the spiritual realm.

The third African based religion in Latin America is called Voodoo or Voudou. It comes from the African Voudou or Dahomeny. From Africa, Voudou came to San Dominange and then into Santo Domingo. It is primarily practiced in Haiti, but like the rest, has spread to the United States, specifically through the port of New Orleans.

Voudou is not as syncretic as the other Latin American religions. God is called Zambia, which comes from the word Nzumbi. In Voudou, there are no orishas; instead, they have beings called loas. People can be possessed without permission in Voudou. Unlike the others, where the priest chooses you, you are choosen by the spirit itself.

Many of the original African beliefs are still central to the religions in Latin America. The same emphasis is placed on the past and on the ancestors. All believe in the same unifying force, which they call by different names.