Cultural distribution
A huge majority of the population in Haiti is black. This may be because many citizens are of African descent. Before Haiti was independent, the French brought in slaves from Africa to work on plantations. Mulatto citizens are of mixed African and European descent and combined with the white population only make up 5% of the ethnic distribution. Post-independence, there was a lot of resentment in Haiti towards white or Mulatto citizens because of the European rule that once was held over Haiti. In fact, most European settlers moved back to Europe after Haiti gained independence which may be why there is such a small population of white Haitians.
Roman Catholicism is the most popular religion in Haiti, and is also an official religion. Unlike many other European conquered lands, the French did not implement religion during their rule. Only in the mid-1980s did the church focus on issues related to the poor, and it soon become popular. Protestantism, which is the second largest religion group, is compiled of many different denominations. Unlike Roman Catholicism, Protestant churches often focused on the poorer population. Voodoo is an important religion in Haiti and is also an official religion. It is said that over half of the population practices voodoo -- traditional African magical and religious routines that deal with sorcery and spirit possession - and many practice it along with another religion. While the Roman Catholic church are against voodoo, it is still most often combined with Roman Catholic rituals.