Santería / Lukumí (Cuban Yoruba diaspora)
Cuban diaspora variant of Yoruba Traditional Religion. Distinctive orisha worship, animal sacrifice, and substantial financial commitment for full initiation. Mostly low-control with some moderate patterns.
CLCI radar
BITE breakdown
0 — Cuban Yoruba diaspora religion; mainstream low-control with documented animal-sacrifice and initiation practices.
Profile facts
In context
Santería (also Lukumí, Regla de Ocha) developed in colonial Cuba from Yoruba traditions blending with Catholic iconography. Initiation can require substantial financial commitment. The 1993 US Supreme Court case Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah affirmed religious-freedom protection for animal sacrifice. Mostly low-control mainstream tradition.
Key control doctrines
- Orisha veneration with Catholic iconography overlay
- Initiation hierarchy
Recovery resources
- ICSA (International Cultic Studies Association) — General referral and cult-aware therapist directory.
- INFORM (Information Network on Religious Movements) — LSE-founded UK research-based information service covering new religious movements.
- Freedom of Mind Resource Center — Steven Hassan's organisation; BITE-model resources and family-side exit guidance.
See the full curated list at /resources.
Legal cases & controversies
- Church of the Lukumi v. Hialeah (1993)
This profile is in progress — history, deeper BITE evidence and survivor voices are still being added. Contributions welcome via GitHub.
Timeline
- Colonial periodSantería emerges in Cuba
- 1993US Supreme Court Hialeah case
Sources
We cite sources by name and outlet rather than fabricating links. Where a source includes its own URL, the open ↗ link opens it directly; otherwise search ↗ runs a Google Scholar query for the cited title — useful for verifying academic sources. For news outlets, search the outlet's own archive.
Change history
Substantive edits logged per the score-updates policy.
- 2026-05-29Phase 1 Batch J: per-group recovery resources applied via programmatic palette (closest-fit by category + subCategory + score). Palette: Mainstream-comparator lighter.
- 2026-05-20Score band scheme migrated from 4 bands to 5 (Minimal 0–5 / Low 6–12 / Moderate 13–20 / High 21–30 / Extreme 31–40). No CLCI value changed; the new Minimal band was carved out of the bottom of the previous Low band.
Relevant hubs
Curated entry points on CLCI Hub for situations connected to this group.
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