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Guyana

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Encyclopedia of Latin American Religions

Part of the book series: Religions of the World ((REWO))

Definition

Religious development in the Caribbean country of Guyana begins with the religious practices of the various indigenous peoples. Its current form shows a steady presence of Hinduism and a notable decline in all Christian traditions other than Pentecostal churches.

Introduction

Guyana is a nation of numerous rivers and a rain forest that occupies almost two-thirds of its land area. Within continental South America, it borders Venezuela, Suriname, and Brazil. Its historic past as a British colony leads to its common classification as a Caribbean country. Based on the 2012 census, the population of Guyana is approximately 746,955 (Bureau of Statistics of the Government of Guyana 2016: 5). Guyana is the only English-speaking country in South America. In the seventeenth century, Guyana was originally a Dutch colony but by 1815 came under British control. Ethnically, Guyana comprises people of African, East Indian, Amerindian, European, Chinese, and Portuguese descent. Each of...

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References

  • Boven K, van Nie M (1988) A Wayana shaman: sessions and spirits. Revindi, Revista indigenista latinoamericana 2:3–19

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  • Bureau of Statistics (2016) Compendium 2 population composition, Guyana. Distribution of the population by religious affiliation, Guyana: 2002 & 2012. http://www.statisticsguyana.gov.gy/census.html. Accessed 27 June 2018.

  • Gordon RG Jr (ed) (2005) Ethnologue: languages of the world. SIL International, Dallas. http://www.ethnologue.com/

  • Karran K (2001) Changing Kali: from India to Guyana to Britain. The Continuum Publishing Group Ltd., London

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  • Meighoo S, Case FI, Taylor P (2013) The encyclopedia of Caribbean religions: vol. 1: A – L; volume 2: M – Z. University of Illinois Press, Champaign

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Correspondence to Adeline Jean .

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© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

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Jean, A. (2019). Guyana. In: Gooren, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Latin American Religions. Religions of the World. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27078-4_352

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