LIFE AFTER THE FLESH VESSEL

The numinous and harrowing nature of death dovetails multiple complex feelings. It’s an experience all existing beings experience from a third-hand perspective, then eventually firsthand. And because of its terrifying nature, people naturally seek comfort and answers to their curiosities, often met through various religious beliefs. Death isn’t an unusual or unique experience, but certainly a challenging one.

Through faith, humanity has tethered itself to an idea of what happens next, where life exists beyond the human body. 

Through observances and studies conducted by Science Array and BBC Earth, it’s been proven taxonomic classes beyond humans grieve. Mammals, such as Orcas hold their deceased calves for sometimes weeks, signaling deep grief within their pods. Whereas birds, perhaps the Magpie, will arrange grass aside their deceased companions, almost ritualistic. Insects even, bees for instance carry dead colony members outside the hive — many argue it’s for sanitary purpose, but many believe the behavior is a result of mourning. 

Dr. Jane Goodall researched chimpanzees both enthusiastically and rigorously. Her studies suggest chimpanzees mourn similarly to humans, indicating they might have their own sense of spirituality. The question remains an argument, of what comes next.

There is an estimated ~4,000 religions, which naturally divert historically; through wars and wages, beliefs and purpose. With beneficent, loving, and unforgiving deities. However, an integral purpose is to reach a higher sentience, relief, or for many - nothing. After interviewing various individuals with different religious and cultural backgrounds, the general synopsis garnered is to do better to live better after our passing. Though the foundation is similar, the qualifications for Heaven, Nirvana, Jannah - the tiers have complexities of their own. 

Paris Byron, a Pentecostal Christian has devoted plenty of her life to being a faithful Christian in the image of God. Similarly, Esteban Conde a practicing Catholic has a different life experience but still seeks the same benevolence from his faith and community. Paris believes “we have an individual, unique purpose given from God” which the soul leads. When death arrives, they collectively agree that there is an afterlife, an eternity in Heaven, that Hell is real, and purgatory is argumentative.

This is solely determined by God. 

Whereas from its Abrahamic relative, in Islam many principles overlap however after death souls enter Barzakh, an almost waiting room where judgement is conducted. Thereafter, Sama Arafat states “Allah is kind, forgiving, but you must be obedient and [your] moral conduct as a Muslim matters.” She shared that there are two primary places with multiple tiers in the afterlife, Jannah and Jahannam. Where each have individual dwellings depending on the severities of your sins,

and goodness of your soul. She believes punishment in the afterlife can be temporary, in lieu of eternal. 

On another scale, Ryusei Satō, who has spent nearly fifty years as a practicing Buddhist, has an entirely different perspective on purpose, divinity, and afterlife. “Are you tired? Of the worry you are constantly doing wrong, suppressing the natural rhythms of life?” Mr. Satō believes he has lived previous lives, and expects he might have a few more; considered Samsara. And until he reaches Nirvana (the end of all suffering and rebirth) he intends to live with liberation, courage and kindness. When we die, he believes consciousness continues into something else based on our karma. The Noble Eightfold Path is a framework that he follows, and he believes Buddhism is unique in a universal lens; meaning, it is not a religion exclusive to Buddhists. 

His longtime friend Dheer who associates himself with Hinduism, shares similar core values. Emphasizing “Atmnan” the eternity of the soul. That similarly, we continue to reincarnate until reaching Moksha, liberation from rebirth. He shares that similar to all religions, belief and values are argued over. “There are multiple Lokas, realms almost, that we land based on Karma.” Karma, which determines our next life’s journey, challenges, and circumstances. His is devoted, to both his faith and culture. 

Undoubtedly, faith is a result of nurture, whereas curiosity stems from nature. Living in a spectrum of goodness. It seems many individuals have an incredibly personal perception and journey with their God, Deities, and communities. Death, does not have to be terrifying, and faith can be an incredible extension that leaves people tender-hearted and kind.

No individual can escape its sticky grasp, and though painful and unfortunate, comfort lies within the fabric of faith.

Atheism: The Lack of a Belief

Atheism tends to get a bad rap when compared to other religions, but that's just the thing about atheism: it isn’t a religion at all. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines atheism as “a lack of belief or a strong disbelief in the existence of a god or any gods”. And it is just that the lack of a belief, or in simpler terms, the lack of a religion.

To a lot of religious people, saying you are an atheist tends to bring about very negative reactions. To some people, they would imagine an atheist as a devil-worshipper who goes out of their way to destroy their relationship with their god. But that isn’t the case in any sense, that disbelief in a god would also mean a disbelief in the devil.

A common misconception of atheists is that, without religion, where are they going to get their morals from, and what is going to stop them from murder? For atheists, those morals come from other places, and they’re able to remain good people. Just like how there are people who do bad things in the name of God, there can be good people who do good just for themselves and the people around them.

In America, there tends to be this assumption of religion on everyone, even though the separation of the church and state is supposed to exist. While countries like China exist with a larger majority of their populations being atheists. There is a way for both religious countries to exist, like the Vatican City, and non-religious countries to exist in tandem, like Sweden or Japan.

There is another connected term that often fits a lot of people, that word being agnostic. It is broadly defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as “one who is not committed to believing in either the existence or the nonexistence of God or any gods”. Being agnostic is a term that isn’t as well-known as atheism, but there are surely a lot more people out there who would personally connect with the word.

Another aspect of being agnostic comes from the viewpoint that the status of a higher power is unknown and will likely stay unknown. To some, there is comfort in not knowing, and there is no desire to dive deeper than what we are living with.

There can be a variety of reasons a person would identify as agnostic or an atheist. Just as people can inherit their religions from their families, people can be born into families without religion. Another pretty common way is when people who inherit religions from their families can start to branch away from that and decide it isn’t for them anymore. Religion can be a very divisive subject, and for some people, there can be a lot of trauma attached to it. Atheism, for some, is putting that past behind them.

A lot of people tend to view atheism as an attack against religion, when that isn’t the reality at all. It is its own concept that is focused on the absence of something. You won’t find atheists gathering in buildings and making plans on how to dismantle global religion. It is just something people are or become, or even no longer identify with.

Growing up religious, not believing in God was something that never would have crossed my mind. But as I grew up in the church, I started to question my relationship with God and religion in general. I eventually came to the conclusion that it just wasn’t for me. When asked about my religion, I usually answer “non-religious”. This term is great for me because, although I don’t feel a personal connection to any god, I do believe in the people who believe. 

That’s what it all boils down to, personal choice, personal faith. Some take solace in their God and their religion, while others find ways without. All ways are completely valid.

Working the Roots, Healing the Past

This past Summer, I had the opportunity to complete a fellowship with The Women’s Institute of Historic Hudson Valley. In my application, I proposed a research project and explained how I planned to use the library’s archives and resources to support it. I initially set out to study the medical practices that enslaved women in the Hudson Valley incorporated into their daily lives. However, what began as a focused project quickly expanded into a series of interconnected ideas.

In the paper I wrote, I examined the herbal knowledge enslaved women carried with them from their homelands and how they adapted that knowledge to an unfamiliar landscape with unfamiliar plants. While working through the stack of books given to me for this research, one text in particular stood out: Working the Roots: Over 400 Years of Traditional African American Healing by Michele E. Lee. The book compiles interviews with African American healers and documents traditional medicines and remedies passed down through generations.

Chapter 9 caught my attention most, as it explored conjuring and hoodoo remedies. In another article I wrote: From Communion to Questions My Shift Away from Catholicism, I reflected on growing up Catholic and eventually letting go of my religious identity after completing my confirmation. Since then, I haven’t identified with any organized religion; the only spiritual practice I have consistently kept is manifestation. At the same time, I have been on a personal journey to learn more about my West African roots. My fellowship offered the perfect opportunity to explore hoodoo and voodoo/vodou, not only for my project, but for myself. One of the first questions I had was: What exactly is the difference between hoodoo, voodoo, and vodou?

Voodoo originated in West Africa, particularly among the Fon and Ewe peoples in regions that are now Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, Togo, and Guinea. Enslaved Africans brought it to the Americas, especially Haiti, where it blended with Catholicism to form Haitian Vodou (note the difference in spellings, as ‘Voodoo’ is used in New Orleans, and ‘Vodou’ is in regard to the Haitian religion). Followers of Haitian Vodou believe in an unknowable supreme creator, Bondye (from the French Bon Dieu, “good god”), while priests and priestesses communicate with Loa, spirits that mediate between humans and Bondye.

The three main families of Loa—Rada, Petro, and Gede—serve distinct roles: Rada spirits are calm and benevolent, Petro are fierce and powerful, and Gede, often associated with zombies, represent the dead who obey the living. According to the Universal Life Church, the concept of zombies in Haitian Vodou emerged as a spiritual means for enslaved people to cope with the “deadness of being a slave,” reflecting Vodou’s role as a force of endurance and resilience.

Hoodoo, however, is a mix of Indigenous herbalism and European folk magic that emphasises the practical uses of magic for purposes such as healing or protection, and is not a formal religion like Vodou. Hoodoo also blends different religions into its traditions, and often calls upon Roman Catholic saints, as some hoodoo practitioners consider themselves catholics who believe in both catholic saints and African gods.

Hoodoo was developed in the American South, as enslaved Africans carried their spiritual knowledge across the Atlantic out of necessity and faith. Practitioners of hoodoo often use materials such as roots (hence hoodoo also being known as rootwork), herbs, crystals, animal parts, and sometimes even bodily fluids for ritual purposes. Hoodoo also may reference religious texts such as the bible, or more specifically, the Book of Psalms, for help from saints or others to guide the use of roots or other talismans as a part of the ceremony. 

One deity–or god–of hoodoo I especially became interested in was John the Conqueror, also known as High John the Conqueror. As detailed by Lee in her book, before the name was associated with the medicinal plant, it evolved in the African slave trade and the enslavement of African people in America. Stories often depicted High John as an African prince who was captured and put into slavery, but outsmarted his enslavers through cunning and nerve. It is said that when he was supposed to leave earth, he left his powers in the root of the Ipomea Jalapa plant, so that whenever used, his powers could be accessed by those with knowledge and faith to invoke his spirit.

This is the same plant that Fredrick Douglass, an American social reformer, abolitionist, and writer born into slavery, was given by the enslaved conjurer, Sandy Jenkins, for protection against slaveholders. He later escaped from his life of slavery. High John is said to provide protection, good luck in love and money, to command any situation, and is also used for success in court cases.

The presence of spiritual practices in African and African-American communities illustrates how traditions evolved under the weight of displacement and enslavement. Vodou preserved a structured religious framework rooted in West African cosmology and shaped by Haitian Catholic influences, while Hoodoo developed as a flexible, practice-based system that drew on African, Indigenous, and European knowledge. One key takeaway from my research was that these traditions and practices offered–and continue to offer more than belief; they provide strategies for healing, protection, and endurance.

Despite their depth and complexity, hoodoo and voodoo/vodou are often misunderstood. One of the most persistent misconceptions about voodoo/vodou, in particular, is that it is based on devil-worship or human sacrifice. This narrative has been amplified by sensationalized media portrayals. A notable example is The Princess and the Frog. Set in New Orleans, the film depicts Dr. Facilier, a voodoo priest, as the villain who uses his spiritual practices to manipulate and harm others. The Loa he communicates with are even portrayed as sinister forces. Although the film was groundbreaking for presenting Disney’s first Black princess, it still reinforces negative stereotypes about voodoo in subtle but harmful ways.

In response to these misconceptions, it felt important to highlight what hoodoo/voodoo/vodou are, and what they are not:

What It Is:

-A system of spiritual, herbal, and ritual practices rooted in African traditions.

-Practices that combine ancestral knowledge, ritual, and natural elements.

-A tool for survival, resilience, and resistance, historically providing enslaved Africans with ways to protect themselves and care for their communities in times of extreme oppression.

-A living, evolving tradition that continues to influence African American culture, contemporary spirituality, wellness practices, music, art, and community rituals today.

-A source of empowerment and community cohesion where social bonds, support networks, and collective identity are formed.

What It Isn’t:

-Devil-worship or inherently evil.

-Synonymous with human sacrifice.

-A cartoonish or ‘magical curse’ system as often depicted in movies and television.

-A monolithic tradition–practices vary by region, community, and individual practitioners.

-Inherently tied to misfortune or malevolent magic–it includes healing, protection, and positive intention.

-Superstition–these practices involve complex knowledge systems and should be coherent and purposeful.

The misrepresentation of hoodoo, voodoo, and vodou in popular culture often obscures the resilience, knowledge, and creativity embedded in these traditions.

My research this summer became more than an academic project; it became a way to engage deeply with the histories and practices that shaped African diasporic survival. From exploring herbal medicine and rootwork to learning about hoodoo and voodoo/vodou, I witnessed how knowledge was preserved, adapted, and carried forward despite enormous hardship.

This work not only expanded my understanding of history but also connected to my own journey with ancestry, spirituality, and self-expression. By uncovering these stories and challenging misconceptions, I hope to honor the ingenuity and endurance of those who came before me, and to carry lessons of care, resilience, and empowerment into my own work.