Across families
Santería (Regla de Ocha / Lucumí) and Umbanda
Different families with 12 axes in close agreement — the sort of pairing a quiz weighting only the divine axes would never surface. Mean distance across all seventeen axes: 0.12 (0 would be identical).
Cuban orisha worship structured around divination, initiation and a strict ritual grammar, with Catholic saints as a historical overlay rather than as theology. Authority is earned through initiation and is not negotiable.
A Brazilian synthesis of Yoruba orixás, Kardecist reincarnation and Catholic saints, in which spirits work through mediums to do practical good. Charity is the point, syncretism is the method, and no existing quiz can return it.
Where they agree
A1 Divine reality
Both sit at a divine reality certainly exists — a gap of 0.00.
A4 Locus
Both sit at fully present within it — a gap of 0.02.
A3 Plurality
Both sit at many powers and spirits — a gap of 0.03.
D2 Centrality of ritual
Both sit at essential and prescribed — a gap of 0.03.
B2 Reading of sacred text
Both sit at metaphorical, or no text at all — a gap of 0.03.
E2 Origin of the cosmos
Both sit at leaning an intentional act — a gap of 0.03.
E4 Standing of nature
Both sit at animate and itself sacred — a gap of 0.03.
D1 Mechanism of the ultimate good
Both sit at between given as grace and achieved by effort or insight — a gap of 0.04.
C1 Survival of the self
Both sit at continues in some form — a gap of 0.08.
D3 The body
Both sit at leaning to be celebrated and between to be disciplined and to be celebrated respectively — a gap of 0.08.
A2 Personhood
Both sit at leaning a personal being one can address — a gap of 0.10.
C3 The human condition
Both sit at leaning ignorant but fundamentally sound — a gap of 0.10.
All seventeen axes
| Axis | Santería (Regla de Ocha / Lucumí) | Umbanda | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 Divine reality | a divine reality certainly exists | a divine reality certainly exists | 0.00 |
| A2 Personhood | leaning a personal being one can address | leaning a personal being one can address | 0.10 |
| A3 Plurality | many powers and spirits | many powers and spirits | 0.03 |
| A4 Locus | fully present within it | fully present within it | 0.02 |
| B1 Source of truth | between revealed and fixed and reason and direct experience | leaning reason and direct experience | 0.27 |
| B2 Reading of sacred text | metaphorical, or no text at all | metaphorical, or no text at all | 0.03 |
| B3 Institutional authority | clergy and tradition decide | leaning clergy and tradition decide | 0.23 |
| C1 Survival of the self | continues in some form | continues in some form | 0.08 |
| C2 Shape of time | between one life, then judgment and cyclical return | cyclical return | 0.30 |
| C3 The human condition | leaning ignorant but fundamentally sound | leaning ignorant but fundamentally sound | 0.10 |
| D1 Mechanism of the ultimate good | between given as grace and achieved by effort or insight | between given as grace and achieved by effort or insight | 0.04 |
| D2 Centrality of ritual | essential and prescribed | essential and prescribed | 0.03 |
| D3 The body | leaning to be celebrated | between to be disciplined and to be celebrated | 0.08 |
| E1 Exclusivity | between one true path and many valid paths | many valid paths | 0.28 |
| E2 Origin of the cosmos | leaning an intentional act | leaning an intentional act | 0.03 |
| E3 Locus of belonging | leaning a people, inherited | between a people, inherited and an individual choice | 0.37 |
| E4 Standing of nature | animate and itself sacred | animate and itself sacred | 0.03 |
Positions for Santería (Regla de Ocha / Lucumí) rest principally on Lucumí/Santería ritual practice and Brandon, Santeria from Africa to the New World; for Umbanda, on Umbanda terreiro practice and Ortiz, A Morte Branca do Feiticeiro Negro. Per-cell sources are listed on each tradition’s own page.
The questionnaire places your answers on these same axes and ranks all 65 traditions by how closely they match. Take it.