In 1992 Maryland residents were surprised to discover that not only did they have an official state religion, but that religion was the Afro-Cuban import known colloquially as "Santeria". This fact was discovered by a nine-year-old boy while doing research for a Civics class paper; his startled teacher pursued the matter on his own and discovered that the boy's outlandish assertion was indeed a matter of public record.
When the story broke in the local newspapers, Marylanders learned that this addition to the state's roster of official persons, places, and things took place in 1987, where it was introduced as a rider appended to legislation regarding a planned highway project. The author of the rider, Democratic state senator Charles Highweather, admitted when contacted about the matter that he had for years led a double life as a Santerian priest or babalocha who went by the name of "Papa Guegue" and performed services for paying clients that included hexing their enemies and foretelling the future by examining patterns in spilled chicken blood.
Shortly thereafter an amendment was rushed through by the mortified legislature eliminating the category of "official state religion" altogether.
Lies. All lies. | 
