page_title: Afro-Dominicans
section_title: Religion
hierarchical_section_title: Afro-Dominicans / Cultural contributions / Religion
caption_attribution_description: English: Afro-Dominicans attending catholic church service.
context_page_description: Afro-Dominicans are Dominicans of predominant Black African ancestry. They represent 15.8% of the Dominican Republic's population according to 2014 estimates. The Afro-Dominican population is present in the entire geography of the country, from the coastal areas such as San Cristobal and San Pedro de Macoris to deep inland areas such as Cotui and Monteplata.
  The first black people in the island came alongside European colonists as workers from Spain and Portugal known as Ladinos. Soon after with the rise of the sugar industry enslaved West Africans and Central Africans were imported from the 16th to early 19th century due to labor demands increasing the black population in the island. In the 19th and 20th centuries many black immigrants from the French and Anglo Caribbean islands, as well as the United States came to the island and settled in coastal regions. Currently there are also many black migrants, particularly from Haiti, who can be included within the Afro-Dominican demographics if they are legal citizens and have Dominican naturalization.
context_section_description: Although most black Dominicans are Roman Catholics, magical-religious beliefs prevails among black Dominicans. Layers reflect African Christian syncretism operated since colonial times. The most characteristic feature is the Dominican Vudú, which  relates directly to the magical activity.
  Funeral rites contain many features of African descent that are shared with other American countries. A typical example is the baquiní o velorio del angelito.
caption: Afro-Dominicans attending church service.
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