#BTColumn – Protecting religious pluralism in the Caribbean

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author(s) do not represent the official position of Barbados TODAY.

By Lenrod Nzulu Baraka

The Caribbean has the distinction of being a cosmopolitan region with people from all over the world residing here. In our islands can be found Amerindians, the descendants of East Indian indentured servants brought to the Caribbean by Europeans to augment the labour force, Europeans, Chinese, Japanese, Syrians, Jews and of course descendants of enslaved Africans who constitute the majority population in most Caribbean islands.

The Caribbean is therefore a potpourri of different cultures, norms, values, ideas, and religions. While it is safe to say that the majority Black population of the Caribbean identify as Christian, most of the other world religions are also well represented in the Caribbean. The East Indian community, which is the second largest ethnic group in the Caribbean, brought both Islam and Hinduism with them as they set down roots in the islands.

Buddhist temple, Jewish synagogues, and shrines to various African Orishas also dot the religious landscape in the Caribbean. The descendants of enslaved Africans created new syntheses that fused traditional African spirituality with European Christianity giving birth to Vodun, Obeah, Shango Orisha, Spiritual Baptist, Myal, Poco, Zion, Convince, and Rastafarianism in the English-speaking Caribbean.

Mormons, notwithstanding their earlier views about the status of Black people as a cursed group, can also be found doing the religious rounds in the Caribbean.  It is to the credit of the Mormons that they have back peddled on their curse theology as it applies to Black people. In 1978 it was revealed to Mormon leader Spencer Kimball that Black people were alright and that they could be elevated to the Mormon priesthood and participate in Mormon temple endowment sealing ordinances.

A thorough search throughout the Caribbean may very well reveal the presence of just about every major religious expression in existence.  The bad rap given to Satanists and Luciferians by the Christian super majority in the Caribbean may have driven these groups far underground but I am certain that the world view represented by the Satanists and the Luciferians is also present in the Caribbean.

Against the backdrop of our cosmopolitan and religiously plural landscape, it is a cause of great concern when clerics and other religiously motivated individuals start clamouring for the state to favour and protect their brand of spirituality. Governments in the Caribbean should not be in the business of protecting and favouring any brand of spirituality. Not even the religious brand practised by the leaders should be given any special favours and protection.

As Barbados embarks on the process of rewriting a new constitution reflecting the evolution of Barbados from a constitutional monarchy to a republic, legislators should be mindful of the cosmopolitan character of Barbados and the religious pluralism that exists on the island. Any language in our foundational documents that would serve to elevate one group over others or give any religious group an advantage over other religious groups should be expunged.

The Nation Newspaper recently published a letter by a local cleric who was bemoaning the presence of some African spiritual practitioners in Barbados. It is very noteworthy that the cleric began her spiritual critique of the philosophy undergirding the practices of the Africans with a quote from the Barbados anthem which affirms that a particular deity has been the people’s guide. This kind of wording in national documents is often used by followers of some sects to insist that a particular form of religion should be protected and favoured by the state.

Maybe the time has come for a full review of our foundational documents so that we can clean house completely and remove all statements and laws that in anyway jeopardizes the free exercise of people’s religious or secular rights. In our enlightened age there is absolutely no reason why Barbados or any other Caribbean nation should be saddled with puritanical, Victorian legal rules from an era that is dead and gone. Neither should we retain language in our foundational documents that can be cited by closed-minded religionists as justification for abridging the religious rights of others. Logic, reason, self knowledge, and a good dose of common sense should be our guide going forward.

Lenrod Nzulu Baraka is the founder of Afro-Caribbean Spiritual Teaching Center.