Thousands of them were gathered in a sport complex of the capital city, Port au Prince, in that evening . The temperature inside was above 30 degrees, a casual Haitian summer. Overlooking the crowd was a podium on which stood among others an evangelist. He was preaching to a crowd which was unrelentlessly shouting after him in one voice : Haiti for Christ and Christ for Haiti.

This sight may seem strange to a foreigner and even unrealistic to those who know haiti only through television cameras, which are generally after news- making and exotic images. It is therefore not surprising that everybody, so to speak, think of voodoo when they hear about Haiti.

However, if it cannot be denied that voodoo is an ancestral religion for black Africans, it is also undeniable that Protestantism in particular and christianism in general is an essential element in the building of the haitian nation. Exactly two hundred years ago, on January 1st 1804, Haiti proclaimed its independence. On that occasion, a vibrant Te Deum, a catholic thanksgiving song, had been sung in order to celebrate the event. And we know for sure, that long before the independence was proclaimed, some Protestants, mainly Calvinists had stayed in the country. In his book the Haitian Protestantism, Dr Catts Pressoir mentions a protestant called Levasseur who was on the island before 1804.

And it was with a lot enthousiasm that the Haitian authorities welcomed the first protestant missionaries from the Friends Society on July 1816. One month and two days later, at the request of president Alexandre Pétion, a meeting attended by the president of the republic, was organised before the peristyle of the national palace. Those Christians were not the accomplices of the former slave owners and most of them had been abolitionists. William Wilberforce and Thomas Clarkson from the Society of Negroes Friends were the most notorious of them.

According to Dr Charles-Poisset Romain who quotes Dr. Catts, after his departure one of the missionaries will have this to say about his stay in Haiti « I am impressed when I see how the current of the Gospel flows among this people from Africa who have enjoyed so few advantages in comparison to the numerous advantages of Europeans and how the word that is preached seems to be finding its way. They receive it with simplicity of heart and love. I can bear testimony to their good behaviour in general and their honesty! One can travel in their country in total security. »The following year was marked by the arrival of other missionaries and the building of the first protestant church in the country known as Wesleyan Church of England.

Today’s statistics on the number of Protestants (taking into account all the branches of christianism except Catholicism) vary a lot. Most polling institutions say it is about 40% of the Haitian population. Less credible institution say it is 51%.Nevertheless, the number of Protestants in Haiti is growing. Some even predict that they will constitute at least half of the population in the coming decade.

When Protestantism was at its beginnings in Haiti, Protestants said they had no part in politics and most of them stood away from politics. This greatly favoured the spread of their cult in the country since the different regimes which ruled the nation posed them no problem. This situation changed over the last decades. There are more and more Protestants who are engaged in politics. There are even Protestants political parties or political parties of Protestants inspiration. Whether Protestants will openly and formally participate to the democratic debate in Haiti is the question now posed in Haitian protestant churches. And this question divides them. This is even more so that in Haiti politics means criminality.

It should be however noted a good number of protestant personalities in the nation are already taking part in public debates and have, on several occasions, worked for their country including in the highest institutions of the state. More over, the protestant Federation of Haiti works a lot for peace and the end of violence in the country. May God continue to bless this nation abundantly in spite of all difficulties it faces.