<FONT size=2 face=ArialMT><FONT size=2 face=ArialMT> <P align=left>Throughout its history, the Voodoo religion was persecuted by the ruling elites and the Catholic Church. Today the new persecutors are the Protestant Churches. As the ethnologist Laennec Hurbon writes: «Today nothing is settled, despite some clear signs in the representations. If the Voodoo has finally acquired the status of religion in the 30s, it has remained legally prohibited until the elimination of any penalty by the Constitution in 1987. The demonisation of Voodoo is constantly revived, especially by the Protestant worships. In the same way, the attempt of a political manipulation is still alive».</P></FONT></FONT>