Jamaica - Religion
The U.S. government estimates the total population at 3 million (July 2015 estimate). According to the 2011 census, 26 percent of the population belongs to various branches of the Church of God, 12 percent is Seventh-day Adventist, 11 percent Pentecostal, 7 percent Baptist, 3 percent Anglican, 2 percent Roman Catholic, 2 percent United Church, 2 percent Methodist, 2 percent Jehovah’s Witnesses, 1 percent Moravian, and 1 percent Brethren. Two percent declined to answer questions about religious affiliation. Other religious groups constitute 8 percent of the population, including approximately 29,000 Rastafarians, 1,500 Muslims (Muslim groups estimate their numbers at 5,000), 1,800 Hindus, 500 Jews, and 270 Bahais. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) indicated approximately 5,900 members resided on the island. The census reports 21 percent have no religious affiliation.
The constitution states that religious groups have the right to provide religious instruction to members of their communities. No individual may be required to receive religious instruction or participate in religious observances contrary to his or her beliefs. The public school curriculum includes nondenominational religious education, which focuses on the historical role of religion in society and philosophical thought. Students cannot opt out of religious education; however, religious devotion or practice is optional. A number of private schools are operated by churches and a number of public institutions have church affiliations. Some public schools also are run by churches but receive funding from the government and are required to abide by the rules of the Ministry of Education. Religious schools are not subject to any special restrictions and do not receive special treatment from the government. Most religious schools are affiliated with either the Catholic Church or Protestant denominations; there are at least two schools run by the Islamic Council of Jamaica and at least one Jewish school.
Caribbean societies and institutions are less secularized than in the US. As a reflection of these socialization and life experiences, Caribbean immigrants rely more heavily on an explicitly religious/spiritual worldview and are more conservative in relation to religious concerns, lifestyle behaviors and general outlook. Religion is an important part of the culture, and school days begin with a devotional exercise, while most meetings open with a prayer. Christianity is the predominant religion. Members of the Rastafarian sect are a small but visible group, constituting approximately 12–15 percent of the population.
Current definitions of spirituality and religion often emphasize their differences from one another in terms of character, roles, and functions. Some define spirituality as more individualistic, less visible, more subjective, and less formal and describe it as a personal quest for answers to ultimate questions about life, meaning, and relationships to the sacred. In contrast, religion is understood as being concerned with participation in a formal organization and embracing an organized system of beliefs, practices and rituals designed to facilitate closeness to God. Eight out of 10 African Americans and Black Caribbeans indicated that spirituality was very important in their lives and four out of ten of both groups characterized themselves as being very spiritual.
Social class and skin color are principal stratification factors. Religion and spirituality have been important in shaping individual and group coping responses to class and color-based discrimination, as well as in influencing specific forms of religious and spiritual expression. Worship communities such as the Revivalist in Jamaica that embody a strong emphasis on spirituality have had particular appeal for oppressed and marginalized groups (i.e., the black poor).
A memory of Africa was preserved in the Jamaican religious experience. The early English planters made no effort to share their religion with their slaves; and, as a result, African folk religion (especially Kumina, the religion of the Ashanti people of West Africa) was practised by the majority of black slaves in Jamaica until the early 19th century.
The arrival of the nonconformist denominations and their efforts on behalf of the slaves during the period leading up to emancipation (1834) brought many people to those Churches and led as well to the development of a variety of Afro-Christian sects which prospered in different forms alongside the more traditional missionary Churches.
1860-61 saw a great religious revival throughout the island. The enthusiasm generated could not be contained in the Churches; and it eventually led to a revitalised Afro-Christian movement known as Revival Religion. This was the principal religious expres: sion among Jamaicans until 1929, when various Pentecostal sects carne to Jamaica from the United States. These sects quickly became popular, often attracting members away from the traditional Churches as well as drawing people from the Afro-Christian sects.
In February 2015both houses of parliament passed a law which ended the government’s longstanding criminalization of marijuana, including for religious purposes, and the law went into effect in April 2015. Among other stipulations, the law permits adherents of the Rastafarian faith to use marijuana for sacramental purposes in locations registered as places of Rastafarian worship. Rastafarians stated that the passage and attendant enforcement of the law that legalized marijuana usage for religious purposes assuaged their concerns about the government’s longstanding ban on the use of marijuana for religious purposes. Rastafarians stated that law enforcement officials adopted appropriate changes in applying and enforcing the new law, but in rare cases continued to profile and stop and search for possession of marijuana over the decriminalized limit.
Rastafarians stated that elements of their religious observance, such as wearing dreadlocks and smoking marijuana, still presented some barriers to their ability to find employment and achieve professional status. Rastafarians, however, stated that such discrimination had diminished considerably in recent years, especially as their styles of clothing and music gained wider acceptance.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
