Connor England

Mar 24, 2022

Ques: Secularization is a feature of most religions in Caribbean society.

Discuss this view with reference to secularization of ONE named religion in the Caribbean.
In your response include TWO arguments to support your position.

Sociology is defined as the study of human interactions within society, within sociology, there
are certain entities or ideas that are termed as institutions. These institutions are responsible for
organizing “standard patterns of social behaviour” (Tischler, 2011). According to Kendall (2006)
they persist because they play a part in helping society survive, these institutions include the
family, education (schools and universities), the government, the economy and religion. Religion
as defined by as a set of beliefs, symbols and practices which is based on the idea of the sacred
and which unites believers into a socio-religious community. There are four main world
religions, Christianity (of which Catholicism is the most powerful), Islam, Judaism and
Hinduism, the first three (Christianity, Islam and Judaism) are classified as Abrahamic religions
as the biblical figure Abraham is regarded as the patriarch of all three religions. Emile Durkheim,
as do other functionalists believed that religion believe that religion is responsible for helping
create social order through the maintenance of value consensus. Social order refers to the way in
which various components of society work together to maintain the status quo. Social order can
only be created through value consensus, a terminology engineered by Emile Durkheim which
argued that in a functioning society is the product of a shared set of norms and values among the
population. Parsons, an American sociologist of whom Durkheim was his contemporary believed
that religion provided the foundation for the promotion and reinforcement of the main values and
norms of society. Conflict theorists however, saw religion in a completely opposite light, Marx
the most famous conflict theorists saw religion as a social drug that nullified the negative effect of
the exploitative relationship between the owners of the means of production. He also believed
that religion serves the social function of masking the foundation of power and exploitation in a
class-based society. This masking of reality preludes the development of class-conciousness in a
class based society. Secularization is the transformation of a society from close identification
with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. In our
modern day society there are countless examples of secularized nations and societies the most
famous of which being the United States of America, France, Czechia, Italy, Russia and Spain,
all of which have a strong history of militant Christianity and an intolerance of secularization or
foreign ideologies. There are several indicators of secularization within in a society, these signs
may be; The significant decline in number of people who attend church, which of recently has
fell to below 10%. However,
With regard to the idea of Caribbean secularism, I disagree with the notion that secularization is
a common feature of most religions in Caribbean society, nevertheless, I agree with the belief
that secularization is present within the Christian Caribbean nations such as Jamaica but not to a
significant extent. Trinidad and Tobago is known for its melting pot of religions as the population
of the country is split between Roman Catholic Christians, Muslims and Hindus. Christianity is
of course present on the island due to its history of colonization by European powers, specifically
Spain and Britain. However, after the abolition of slavery by the British in 1807, and the
subsequent emancipation of slaves in 1838, an influx of indentured labourers from British India
arrived to the Caribbean, seeking to better themselves in a country without a system of
segregation as intense as the caste system. These Indian immigrants practised religions such as
Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism, and due to the strictness of those religions their adherents
typically do not tend to dilute or deviate from their religious guides unless required by external
environmental factors (Mustapha, 1997). However ,Christianity as a religion has become
increasingly disorganized since the Reformation in the 1600s. The Reformation is defined as the
period in which some emboldened European nations broke away from the Catholic Church in
Rome and as such were no longer under the authority of the Pope who served as the Catholic
Church’s head. This disassociation with the Catholic Church gave these new European churches
the authority to interpret the Bible in their own way, leading to a massive wave of the
development of new doctrines depending on the Church.
The first argument that is most commonly used is the use of the statistical data which indicates a
downward trend in churches since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. The decline in church
marriages, the rising divorce rate, the increase in cohabitation and common-law unions and the
fall in birth rates are all indicators of the little influence that religion and its moral values exert
upon society. However, this outlook can be considered as one-dimensional. People most
commonly associate the decline in religion's influence with secularization although it simply is
undergoing reorganization so that it may suit the more dressing, relevant needs of 21st century
society. This reorganization of religion has also brought forth religious pluralism. Religious
pluralism is the state of being where every individual in a religiously diverse society has the
rights, freedoms, and safety to worship, or not, according to their conscience. The Jamaican
constitution under Section 13 states that every citizen is entitled to the rights to “freedom of
thought, belief, observance and political doctrines” as well as “freedom of expression, assembly
and association”. The following subsection also outlines that “Parliament shall pass no law and
no organ of the state that shall take any action which abrogates, abridges or infringes these
rights”. The most notable form of religious pluralism within Caribbean society is through the
region's various syncretic religions. Syncretic religions are religions formed from the fusion of
different beliefs and values. In the Caribbean, due to its history of colonization by Christian,
European settlers who enslaved the polytheistic, multi-religious Africans, the Caribbean has
become host to new religions that were formed through the mixture of Christian and
Afro-religion based values and beliefs. Examples of syncretic religions include Revivalism,
Myalism, Santeria and Zionism.

Another argument that is presented by sociologists is that the church has become less engaged in
social areas such as politics and governance. This has also resulted in a decline in people who
take or use moral guidance from the church. Parsons in states that the disengagement of the
church in political affairs is a positive change as it allows them to focus on more social issues and
aim towards welfare. It also allows for churches to focus more on their role of setting moral goals
for society to achieve. Others may see this as the decline of the church’s power and a show of its
waning influence on modern society, although in some countries the exact opposite has been
occurring. In Caribbean countries like Jamaica the church still has a powerful grasp in society
through education (ownership of schools) and through governance and politics. Not only are the
majority of Jamaican politicians publicly Christians, but many of the rituals performed in the
Jamaican political sphere iChristian in nature. Two examples may include: each session of
Parliament or any other organ/department of the Jamaican government that operates within
Gordon House opens their sessions with either a scripture reading or a prayer. Another example
may include the National Prayer Breakfast which is hosted by the . The Breakfast is usually
attended by high-profile ministers and leaders such as the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime
Minister, the Ministers of National Security, Health, Gender Culture & Sports and Education, the
Leader of the Opposition Party, as well as other MP or Senators from both major political parties.
Additionally, to this, the church in Jamaica still has significant power over the passing of
legislation in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Examples of Christian values
implemented within the Jamaican constitution include but are not limited to: Abortion, the act of
prematurely terminating a pregnancy is still outlawed in most Caribbean countries and in
Jamaica, may be punishable by life imprisonment. Additionally, anyone who gives advice or
assists in the procedure may be sentenced to three to five years in prison. Jamaica still outlaws
sex between two men and is punishable by up to 10 years with hard labour through the Offences
Against the Person Act. By extension of this law, marriage, under Section 18 of the Constitution
(Subsection 1) states that no form of marriage or relationship other than voluntary union of one
man or woman may be legally contracted or recognized, as such, same-sex marriages or
same-sex unions are not in Jamaica. This is also the case for many other Christian Caribbean
nations. Despite the fact that there is no official Church that the state aligns itself with, several
churches such as the Moravian, Anglican and Catholic under an Act of Parliament.

In conclusion, secularization is not prevalent in most religions of Caribbean society. It is is not

present within religions which have stringent guidelines to which their adherents must follow.
However, it must be noted that secularization can be found within the Christian religion,
natheless its effect is insignificant and can be disregarded entirely. It was also noted that instead
of the Christian religion becoming secularized, the various sects and denominations (such as the
Church of God) have gained/retained political power overtime.