Here are some odd thoughts.

[hedgehog]

So my company sent me to Brazil for two weeks, and I visited a lot of old Catholic Churches and museums. The guide books and the museums all mention the fact that a lot of African religion has crossed over into the practice of catholicism in Brazil.

-So, when we celebrate the Birth of the Lord on the old holiday of Saturnalia and have co-opted the Celtic feast of Samhein as the Holy Days of All Saint's and All Soul's, why do we European Catholics trivialize and denigrate African customs and beliefs that have been "baptized"?

- Also - why haven't the African beliefs been given the same respect accorded Buddhism?

[mrgorth]

1. I'll try

One, we're not in Brazil so I've never heard this. Two, racism. Three, Buddhism has been accorded more respect than the same celtic practices you mention because it is a very legitimate spiriuality and not merely assigning names to elements of nature. To go farther, some (I would be one) would suggest that Christ ventured east as a man and studied Buddhism AND that it was meant to play more of a role in our spirituality than it does. See Living Buddha, Living Christ by Tich Nhat Hanh.