Religion in Guyana
[4] Religions were reflected by East Indian, African, Chinese, and European ancestry, as well as a significant indigenous population.
[7] Between 1991 and 2012, Hinduism, Islam, Catholicism and Mainline Protestant churches all saw significant decline as the national population grew by 3%.
[8] In 2012, the major groupings composed: Figures in 2020 showed that Christianity's status as Guyana's dominant system of values is a consequence of colonial history.
Only since the mid-20th century, with the growth of the Indo-Guyanese population and the efforts of their ethnic and religious organizations, have Muslim and Hindu values and institutions been recognized as having equal status with those of Guyana's Christians.
[10] Among the Christian denominations active in Guyana in the 1990s, the Anglican Church claimed the largest membership: about 125,000 adherents as of 1986 though this had declined to about 40,000 in 2012.
[1] The majority of Roman Catholics lived in Georgetown, and the Portuguese Guyanese were the most active members, although all the ethnic groups were represented.
There were smaller numbers of Baptists, Jehovah's Witnesses (1.3% of the population), Congregationalists, Nazarenes, Moravians, Ethiopian Orthodox, and other mainstream Christians.
Other sects in Guyana included the Rastafari movement (0.5% of the population) which looks to Ethiopia for religious inspiration, and the Alleluia church, which combines Christian beliefs with Amerindian traditions.
Because the sponsor of a festival provides a tent and feeds a large number of guests, orthodox Hindu rituals require considerable outlays of money.
'Noble Society', IAST: Ārya Samāja) is a monotheistic Indian Hindu reform movement that promotes values and practices based on the belief in the infallible authority of the Vedas.
Obeah practitioners may be Afro-Guyanese or Indo-Guyanese, and members of all the ethnic groups consult them for help with problems concerning health, work, domestic life, and romance.
Although not a Guyanese product, the country acquired international notoriety in November 1978 following a mass murder-suicide at Jonestown, the commune of the People's Temple of Christ, led by the Reverend Jim Jones, of Oakland, California.
[16] The House of Israel was established by an American fugitive, David Hill, also known as Rabbi Edward Washington, who arrived in Guyana in 1972.
Opponents of the government claimed that the House of Israel constituted a private army for Guyana's ruling party, the People's National Congress (PNC).
[18] Through much of Guyana's history, the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches helped maintain the social and political status quo.
The Guyana Council of Churches became an increasingly vocal critic of the government in the 1970s and 1980s, focusing international attention on its shortcomings.
[10] In contrast to the most prominent Christian clergy, who maintained connections with international denominations, Hindu and Muslim leaders depended on strictly local support.
In addition to its missionary work, the church owns approximately $2 million in property in Guyana, and cultivate farms in the country.
