Spiritual Baptist
Encyclopedia
The Spiritual Baptists faith is an Afro-Caribbean syncretic religion
which combines elements of traditional West African religions with Christianity
. The Spiritual Baptist faith originated in St. Vincent
.
Despite the African influences, Spiritual Baptists consider themselves to be Christians. The Baptist
faith was brought to Trinidad
by the "Merikens", former American slaves who were recruited by the British to fight with them, as the Corps of Colonial Marines
, against the Americans during the War of 1812
. After the end of this war, these ex-slaves were settled in the south of the country, to the east of the Mission of Savannah Grande (now known as Princes Town
) in six villages, since then called The Company Villages. These American settlers, the Merikens, brought with them the Baptist faith of the Second Great Awakening
combined with, in the case of those from Georgia, the Gullah
culture. With the coming of missionaries of the Baptist Missionary Society from Great Britain, the Baptist faith in the Company Villages was much affected, but despite the ensuing schism between the so-called London Baptists and the rest, the Baptist congregations of the Company Villages, even including those with Gullah origins, retained so little visible African influence in their practice that John Hackshaw was able to give a different view of the Baptists in the north of the country:
This religion contains both elements of Protestant Christianity and many African rituals and beliefs. This religion is not unique to Trinidad and Tobago. In many other Caribbean islands, such as Barbados
, this religion is practiced.
The name Shouter derives from the fact that when the Baptists "catch the Spirit", they clap and shout, making a loud noise that, especially during open air services, some in the general public may object to. "Shouter" is seen as a derogatory term by many modern day Baptists on the island, seeing as it was first originally imposed upon them by the mainstream, the British colonial
government.
The faith expanded to Barbados in 1957 as the Sons of God Apostolic Spiritual Baptists movement. It now ranks as one of two indigenous religions in the country, the other being the Rastafari religion.http://www.barbados.org/rasta.htm Archbishop Granville Williams who originated from Barbados, lived in Trinidad and Tobago for sixteen years where he witnessed the local Spiritual Baptists. Williams become enthusiastic about the Trinidadian movement where he asserted to have seen a vision and heard the voice of God. Upon returning to Barbados he held the first open-air meeting in Oistins
, Christ Church. Due to a well received response in Barbados, he quickly established the Jerusalem Apostolic Spiritual Baptist Church in Earling Grove. This church was quickly followed by Zion at Richmond Gap. As of 1999 the following in Barbados reached around 1,900 and the Jerusalem church has been rebuilt to seat 3,000.
were prohibited in 1917 by the Shouter Prohibition Ordinance, which was eventually repealed in 1951.
The Late Ashford Sinanan opposition parliamentarian moved the motion to repeal the Shouter Prohibition Act Under the PNM government and was successful. Today the Shouters can practice their religion freely, the United National Congress Granted the Shouter baptist a national holiday and also gave them land to establish their headquarters
, in memory of the struggle and in recognition of the repeal of the prohibition laws.
Trinidad and Tobago is the only country globally that celebrates a public holiday for the Spiritual Baptist faith.
Barbados:
USA:
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
which combines elements of traditional West African religions with Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
. The Spiritual Baptist faith originated in St. Vincent
Saint Vincent (island)
Saint Vincent is a volcanic island in the Caribbean. It is the largest island of the chain called Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It is located in the Caribbean Sea, between Saint Lucia and Grenada. It is composed of partially submerged volcanic mountains...
.
Despite the African influences, Spiritual Baptists consider themselves to be Christians. The Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
faith was brought to Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
by the "Merikens", former American slaves who were recruited by the British to fight with them, as the Corps of Colonial Marines
Corps of Colonial Marines
Corps of Colonial Marines were raised from former slaves as auxiliary units of the Royal Marines for service in the Americas: Two of these units were raised and subsequently disbanded...
, against the Americans during the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
. After the end of this war, these ex-slaves were settled in the south of the country, to the east of the Mission of Savannah Grande (now known as Princes Town
Princes Town
Princes Town is a town in southern Trinidad .Originally founded as the Amerindian Mission of Savana Grande, the town was renamed after the 1880 visit by Queen Victoria's grandsons, Prince Albert and Prince George...
) in six villages, since then called The Company Villages. These American settlers, the Merikens, brought with them the Baptist faith of the Second Great Awakening
Second Great Awakening
The Second Great Awakening was a Christian revival movement during the early 19th century in the United States. The movement began around 1800, had begun to gain momentum by 1820, and was in decline by 1870. The Second Great Awakening expressed Arminian theology, by which every person could be...
combined with, in the case of those from Georgia, the Gullah
Gullah
The Gullah are African Americans who live in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina and Georgia, which includes both the coastal plain and the Sea Islands....
culture. With the coming of missionaries of the Baptist Missionary Society from Great Britain, the Baptist faith in the Company Villages was much affected, but despite the ensuing schism between the so-called London Baptists and the rest, the Baptist congregations of the Company Villages, even including those with Gullah origins, retained so little visible African influence in their practice that John Hackshaw was able to give a different view of the Baptists in the north of the country:
- "While those that settled in the ‘Company Villages’ were exposed to the Baptist Missionary Society's influence, those that settled in the North practiced their beliefs as brought from America with the inclusion of African religious practice and beliefs joined by those they met here which blossomed into the group now known as ‘Spiritual Baptists’".
This religion contains both elements of Protestant Christianity and many African rituals and beliefs. This religion is not unique to Trinidad and Tobago. In many other Caribbean islands, such as Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
, this religion is practiced.
The name Shouter derives from the fact that when the Baptists "catch the Spirit", they clap and shout, making a loud noise that, especially during open air services, some in the general public may object to. "Shouter" is seen as a derogatory term by many modern day Baptists on the island, seeing as it was first originally imposed upon them by the mainstream, the British colonial
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
government.
The faith expanded to Barbados in 1957 as the Sons of God Apostolic Spiritual Baptists movement. It now ranks as one of two indigenous religions in the country, the other being the Rastafari religion.http://www.barbados.org/rasta.htm Archbishop Granville Williams who originated from Barbados, lived in Trinidad and Tobago for sixteen years where he witnessed the local Spiritual Baptists. Williams become enthusiastic about the Trinidadian movement where he asserted to have seen a vision and heard the voice of God. Upon returning to Barbados he held the first open-air meeting in Oistins
Oistins
The coastal town of Oistins is an area located in the country of Barbados. Situated in the southern portion of the parish of Christ Church, Oistins operates mostly as a fishing village and a tourist hang out, and is the location of the parish church for Christ Church...
, Christ Church. Due to a well received response in Barbados, he quickly established the Jerusalem Apostolic Spiritual Baptist Church in Earling Grove. This church was quickly followed by Zion at Richmond Gap. As of 1999 the following in Barbados reached around 1,900 and the Jerusalem church has been rebuilt to seat 3,000.
Prohibition
The activities of the Spiritual Baptists in Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
were prohibited in 1917 by the Shouter Prohibition Ordinance, which was eventually repealed in 1951.
The Late Ashford Sinanan opposition parliamentarian moved the motion to repeal the Shouter Prohibition Act Under the PNM government and was successful. Today the Shouters can practice their religion freely, the United National Congress Granted the Shouter baptist a national holiday and also gave them land to establish their headquarters
Holiday
In 1996 the Government of Trinidad and Tobago granted a public holiday to the Spiritual Baptist faith, to be celebrated on March 30, called Spiritual Baptist/Shouter Liberation DaySpiritual Baptist Shouter Liberation Day
Spiritual/Shouter Baptist Liberation Day is an annual public holiday celebrated in the Trinidad and Tobago on March 30. The holiday commemorates the repeal on March 30, 1951, of the 1917 Shouter Prohibition Ordinance that prohibited the activities of the Shouter or Spiritual Baptist faith.Trinidad...
, in memory of the struggle and in recognition of the repeal of the prohibition laws.
Trinidad and Tobago is the only country globally that celebrates a public holiday for the Spiritual Baptist faith.
Places of worship
Sons of God Apostolic Spiritual BaptistBarbados:
- The Cathedral Church of Jerusalem – Ealing Grove, Christ Church
- Beulah Temple – Bishops, St. Lucy
- Zion Apostolic Temple – Richmond Gap, St. Michael
USA:
- Bethlehem Church – Brooklyn, New York
- Pillar of Fire Church – Dorchester, Massachusetts
- Scarlet Cord Church – New Bedford, Massachusetts
- St. Pauls Seven Day Apostolic Spiritual Baptist Church – Brooklyn, New York
- --; Los Angeles, California
See also
- OrishaOrishaAn Orisha is a spirit or deity that reflects one of the manifestations of Olodumare in the Yoruba spiritual or religious system....
- Religion in Trinidad and TobagoReligion in Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago is a multi-religious nation. The largest religious groups are the Roman Catholics and Hindus; the Anglicans, Muslims, Presbyterians, Methodist are among the smaller faiths...
- SanteríaSanteríaSantería is a syncretic religion of West African and Caribbean origin influenced by Roman Catholic Christianity, also known as Regla de Ocha, La Regla Lucumi, or Lukumi. Its liturgical language, a dialect of Yoruba, is also known as Lucumi....
- The Spiritual Baptist Archdiocese of New York, Inc.The Spiritual Baptist Archdiocese of New York, Inc.The Spiritual Baptist Archdiocese of New York, Inc., is the Spiritual Baptist archdiocese that covers the North America region. The Archdiocese comprises a number of independently operated Spiritual Baptist Churches, considers itself the only diocese in the United States in terms of The Spiritual...
Further reading
- Encyclopedia of African and African-American Religions
- Gall, Timothy L. (ed). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life: Vol. 2 - Americas. Cleveland, Ohio: Eastword Publications Development (1998); pg. 76-77.
- Keeney, Bradford. Shakers of St. Vincent. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Ringing Rocks Press, 2002.
- Scott, Caroline 1999. Insight Guide Barbados. Discovery Channel and Insight Guides; fourth edition, Singapore. Pg. 85 ISBN 0-88729-033-7