Sephardic Jews arrived in Saint-Domingue during the first days of the colonial period, despite that they were banned in the offi
The constitution of Haiti establishes the freedom of religion. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs oversees and monitors religious groups and laws affecting them. While Catholicism has not been the state religion since 1987, a 19th-century concordat with the Holy See continues to confer preferential treatment to the Catholic Church, in the form of stipends for clergy and financial support to churches and religious schools. The Catholic Church also retains the right to appoint certain amounts of clergy in Haiti without the government's consent.[38]
Religious groups are not required to register with the government, but may do so in order to receive special standing in legal proceedings, tax exemptions, and civil recognition for marriage and baptismal certificates. The government has continually failed to recognize marriages performed by Haitian Vodou practitioners, despite it being a registered religion. Government officials claim that they are working with the Vodou community to establish a certification process for their clergy in order to resolve this issue. Additionally, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has continually not approved a request from the Muslim community to register as a religious group, which has been outstanding since the 1980s. According to the government, this was due to not having received necessary financial documentation as part of the registration process.[38]
According to the government, Muslims in jail do not reliably have access to halal food and Muslim clergy due to a lack of resources.[38]
Protestant and Catholic clergy have reported good relations with the government. Representatives of the Vodou and Muslim communities have reported social stigma against their communities, and discrimination in employment.[38]