Introduction
The Caribbean region consists of those coastal areas of Central, North, and South America that border on the Caribbean Sea, along with all of the islands between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The area is culturally rich because of the combination of indigenous peoples, European colonialists, African Slaves, Hindi indentured servants, and other immigrants who have found their way over the years. The region consists of people speaking Spanish, English, French, Dutch, and a variety of Creoles. Because of this diversity, the Caribbean also has a great deal of religious diversity. Often this diversity has created hybrids of European and African faiths, such as Voudon and Santeria, as well as new religions, such as Rastafarianism. This article examines the dynamic history behind religion in the Caribbean and its legacy in the present day, the psychological functions of religion in this particular context, and the role of altered states of consciousness in some new...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Bibliography
Bisnauth, D. (1996). History of religions in the Caribbean. Trenton/Asmara: Africa World Press.
Bourguignon, E. (1973). Introduction. In E. Bourguignon (Ed.), Religion, altered states of consciousness, and social change (pp. 3–35). Columbus: Ohio State University Press.
Chevannes, B. (1994). Rastafari: Roots and ideology. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press.
Fick, Carolyn E. (1990). The Making of Haiti: The Saint Dominique Revolution From Below. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press.
Fernández Olmos, M., & Paravisnini-Gebert, L. (2003). Creole religions of the Caribbean: An introduction from Vodou and Santeria to Obeah and Espiritismo. New York: New York University.
Henney, J. H. (1973). The shakers of St. Vincent: A stable religion. In E. Bourguignon (Ed.), Religion, altered states of consciousness, and social change (pp. 219–263). Columbus: Ohio State University Press.
Hylton, Patrick “Pops”. (2002). The role of religion in Caribbean history: From Amerindian Shamanism to Rastafarianism. Washington, D.C.: Billpops Publications.
Lee, H. (2003). The first Rasta: Leonard Howell and the rise of Rastafarianism (trans: Davis, L.). Chicago: Lawrence Hill Books.
Lewis, W. F. (1993). Soul Rebels: The Rastafari. Long Grove: Waveland Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Brown, S.L. (2020). Caribbean Religions. In: Leeming, D.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24348-7_9307
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24348-7_9307
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-24347-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-24348-7
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences