At first Haitians of all faiths turned inward, transforming their bedsheet camps into all-night religious revivals as they clung to faith and resilience, crying and praising Jezi.
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But in the three months after the earthquake, the relationship among faiths has evolved from one of rare unity to a fight for the Haitian soul. All hope to increase followers even as they assign blame for the quake.
In the makeshift camps, along rubble-filled streets, Protestant preachers are battling Catholics as well as followers of Vodou, hoping to lure more congregants.
``When I hear some of the Protestant churches in the neighborhoods, you have the impression that only Catholics lost people in the earthquake,'' said William Smarth, a theology professor and diocese priest who was part of the liberation theology movement that helped oust former dictator Jean-Claude ``Baby Doc'' Duvalier.
``They say, `We [Catholics] don't believe in God, we don't believe in Jesus Christ.' ''
Source: Miami Herald | JACQUELINE CHARLES AND TRENTON DANIEL
