No one is going to like my response but Isaac Bonewits did indeed model parts of ADF on Voodoo. His start was in a Vodou house, and he pretty much says so in the introduction to my book. When he began the model for starting/reconstruction of his form of Druidism, now known as ADF, this was his basis. I don’t think he intended it to be cultural appropriation, but I completely understand that why, especially now, people view it as such. Many people have been asking me for my opinion on this timely topic, and here it is.
According to their website ADF was founded in 1983, I did not meet Issac Bonewits until almost a decade later. At that point it had already become a widely established tradition. Did we have several conversations about it in the years that I did know him ? Of course we did. If someone came to me and asked if I thought basing one tradition in part on another was a great idea how would I respond… a resounding no. Isaac never hid the fact that his beginnings came in the form of African Traditional religion. For me this is one of my main points of contention about Cultural Appropriation, individuals must give credit when they are using other’s ideas. In the forward to my book Voodoo and Afro-Caribbean Paganism, he writes in the second sentence : “My first introduction to magic and Paganism was through Voodoo.” Obviously, these discussions are complicated, so for a more detailed explanation of how I view the matter please watch the following:
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