njb902 wrote:Vodou is a religion.
Just to get technical: No, it's not. It's a set of beliefs that you practice alongside another religion. Most Louisiana Voodoo practitioners, especially in the 1800's, are/were also Christians(overwhelmingly Catholicism, as that's where Voodoo/Hoodoo beliefs originate, but I've met non-Catholic Voodoo practitioners when I was involved in it). In fact most of the Loa correspond to a particular Catholic saint, for example Ayizan is Saint Clare, and some saints are directly granted Loa-ship, such as St Michael the Archangel.
Also, njb, your first two kinds are, in actual practice(outside of movies), the same thing.