Decatur , Georgia ( CNN ) -- Given all their country and people have been through , between political upheavals , human rights abuses , hurricanes , abject poverty and last week 's earthquake , `` If Haitians were constantly questioning their faith , they would all be atheists . '' These words came from the Rev . Eric Hill as he prepared to lead Haitian Mass Sunday at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Decatur , Georgia . Some of the 100 Haitian parishioners who gathered raised their hands to the heavens in praise , grateful their loved ones had been found . Others bowed their heads and clenched their hands for those lost , still missing and all who suffered . One woman wept out of guilt because she -- a U.S. citizen -- had been able to leave her devastated homeland a day after the quake , while so many were left behind . Their unshaken faith and devotion to God is the same sort that 's played out in other houses of worship , in living rooms and on the torn-up streets of Haiti . Are you in Haiti and safe ? Share your story , photos with CNN iReport . Carmella Delerme of Miami , Florida , said her mother clung to her Bible for days , reading psalms over and over again , as they waited for word on the whereabouts and condition of Delerme 's sister and other relatives . When her sister , who was in Haiti on a missionary trip with their Seventh-day Adventist Church , called late Thursday , Delerme said , `` I went straight to church and prayed and prayed and prayed . We continue to pray for those who are lost and still in need . '' On the streets of Port-au-Prince , with many of their churches crumbled , people have gathered to worship and sing Catholic and Protestant hymns . `` That 's the soundscape of the country right now , '' said Elizabeth McAlister , a professor of religion and anthropologist of Haiti who teaches at Wesleyan University in Connecticut . `` It 's the business of religion to create meaning out of chaos . ... Tragically , the business of religion is getting a lot of trade today . '' See complete coverage of Haiti earthquake . It 's often said that 80 percent of Haitians are Catholic , although other estimates range from 55 percent to 85 percent . McAlister , who puts her best estimate at 70 percent , said getting a proper census in Haiti to nail down numbers is impossible . But between Protestant denominations and Catholicism , it is without doubt a majority Christian country , she said . Weaved in , however , are the nuances that come with the country 's troubled history . Colonized by the French , the land then known as Saint-Domingue emerged as one of the wealthiest colonies of the 18th century . It 's flourishing sugar production and aggressive deforestation was achieved on the backs of half a million African slaves . They brought with them their own belief systems , rooted in West and Central African traditions . Haitian Vodou , often misunderstood and branded with stereotypes , has its own ceremonies and rituals meant to honor spirits , or loas . These spirits , seen as intermediaries with God and links to ancestors , can be called upon for help . And for practicing Christians , especially Catholics who can view saints as they would spirits , the two systems do not have to be mutually exclusive . Not everyone is necessarily practicing Vodou , commonly anglicized as Voodoo , but McAlister said the Afro-Creole Haitian traditions are usually kept alive and the ancestral spirits are inherited by at least one member of every family . Haitian-born Leslie Desmangles remembered being hurt as a boy by the words of Christian missionaries who misunderstood and demonized his peoples ' traditions . Theirs were sentiments much like those uttered last week by televangelist Pat Robertson who said the Haitian people are `` cursed '' because they `` swore a pact with the devil '' to get out from under French rule . Robertson 's comments were `` insensitive , theologically unsound and loaded with racial connotations , '' said Desmangles , a professor of religion and international studies at Trinity College in Connecticut . In the Decatur church Sunday , the priest reminded his congregants that theirs is an all-loving God , not a vindictive one . Their God , he said , is in the international outpouring of support from people who , one week ago , did n't know where Haiti was . Their God is a rock of stability when the earth trembles . Their God is the one who lifts them up `` to mend our broken bones , to brush us off and to bury the dead , '' Hill said . And during this first Sunday Mass after the earthquake , their God was in the music that moved them . To the distinctly Caribbean sounds of their band and choir , they sang hymns of praise to the one they believe stands with them . `` People continue to be God 's instruments , '' the pastor said , with the help of a Creole translator . `` God will work through all of us to bring new life to Haiti . '' As he spoke , a little girl , too young to understand the pain around her , did what she could . She planted kisses on the forehead of her anguished father , his face buried in his hands , before skipping off to make fish faces and giggle with other children .
Haitians would be atheists if they questioned faith , given all they 've seen , priest says . Instead belief in God remains unshaken , as seen in churches , homes and on streets . Haitian Vodou , often misunderstood , is part of people 's rich history . Their God is all-loving , not vindictive , priest says in answer to Pat Robertson .