Protestantism in Jamaica
Missionaries attempted to convert slaves to varying Protestant denominations of Moravians, Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians to name a few.
As missionaries worked to convert slaves, African traditions mixed with the religion brought over by Europeans.
There are also several church-operated educational systems including a Seventh-day Adventist one which incorporates Northern Caribbean University.
Prior to white missionaries, George Liele was the first successful venture that spread Christianity to the enslaved in Jamaica.
White missionaries from Europe or North America were not the only attempts to provide religion to the slave population of Jamaica.
[3] He began Baptist work on the island in the mid-eighteenth century, meaning he was in Jamaica before English and Anglo-American missionaries.
Northern Europeans such as the English and Dutch wanted to break through the political and economic stronghold of Spain and open new territories to spread their faith.
They emphasized preaching, instruction and observable response in word, moral behavior, and church adherence.
Some of the missionary churches that led the struggle for the abolition of slavery were the Moravians, Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians.
[7] There was a need for Africans who were enslaved to form a cohesive worldview and culture to help make sense of their lives on plantations, and religion allowed them to do this.
He was a minister of the revivalist Jamaica Native Baptist Free Church from 1889 to 1921 and a religious figure who provided leadership for the oppressed.
Bedward was a leader in a black-based religious movement that played an enormous historical role in attaining certain civil rights for blacks.
[11] Bedward and his followers rose up against racial discrimination, injustice, and the tyranny of colonial rule to improve the lives of the black majority.
Instead, Baptists in Jamaica tend to focus on the church in everyday life like health issues, material resources, and social relationships.
[4] There are also several church-operated educational systems including a Seventh-day Adventist one which incorporates Northern Caribbean University.
