Subscribe for all my updates and don't miss a thing! Sign me up!
Sharing Is Caring! Share this awesome content with your friends now.
Watch! See the real Jamaica in VIDEOS!
Click Here and see why over 90,000 fans are raving about my YouTube Channel!
by Venesha Johnson | Associate Writer
Rastafarians are a big part of the Jamaican identity. While many won’t admit it, they are held to a high social and moral standard and are easily judged if seen participating in certain activities. Rastas definitely stand out in the Jamaican population and you will more than likely run into them quite often.
New! Ready To Visit Jamaica?
Look Here for amazing deals and discounts on our new hotel booking page! And consider booking a private tour with us!
This would have probably led many to believe the Jamaican population has a great percentage of Rastafarians. Rastafarians are Jamaica's largest and most visible indigenous movement.
In the mid-1980s, there were approximately 70,000 Rastafari members and sympathizers in Jamaica. The majority were male, working-class, ex-Christians aged 18 to 40.
In the 2011 Jamaican census, only 29,026 people of the 2,697,983 enumerated were identified as Rastafarians.
Rastafari was founded by Jamaica's Afro-Jamaican majority, and while Afro-Jamaicans remain the majority, Rastafari has gained followers from the island's Chinese, Indian, Afro-Chinese, Afro-Jewish, mulatto, and white minorities.
Until 1965, the vast majority were from the lower classes, but it has since attracted many middle-class members, with Jamaican Rastas working as lawyers and university professors by the 1980s.
Rastas frequently extol Jamaica as the source of their faith, and there are many Rastas living there. Rastas revere Jamaica as the source of their faith, and many Rastas from other parts of the world visit the island on pilgrimage.
A common misconception is that if you spot a person with dreadlocks or “locs” for short, then you have spotted a Rastafarian. Which is far from the truth. For many dreadlocks are simply a fashion statement. So do not be surprised when you visit KFC and see a person with dreadlocks in the line.
The Rastafarian religion is not even the most common religious affiliation on the island; it is a minority. According to the most recent census, less than 1% of Jamaica's 2.7 million people identify as Rastafarian.
Church of God (24%), Seventh-day Adventist (11%), Pentecostal (10%), and Baptist (7%), are the most common religious affiliations. Again, Having dreadlocks does not automatically make you a Rasta! But what you will also find is regular appearing, bald-head men, that practice the beliefs of Rastafarians.
Facts about rastas that might shock you:
Looking to learn more about the way of life of Rastafarians in Jamaica, the Indigenous Rasta village in Montego Bay is a great place to begin. Here is a sneak peak of the experience.
Sharing IS Caring! Please help me get the message out by sharing this article with your friends on social media (links below). Thnx ;-)
If you found this page useful, please consider subscribing to my weekly newsletter, to get even more.
It tells you each week about the new information that I have added, including new developments and great stories from lovers of Jamaica!
Return to Rastafarian History from Rastafarians In Jamaica
Return to My Island Jamaica Homepage from Rastafarians In Jamaica
Rastafarians In Jamaica | Written: August 29, 2022
My channel reaches over 100,000 subscribers worldwide and has leveraged over 11 million views, sharing, what I call 'The Real Jamaica'. Subscribe today and join our family of viewers. |
New! Experience The REAL Jamaica!
Book Your Private Tour here and experience Jamaica the way we (locals) do!
Click Here to try our dependable and effective Site Search tool. It works!
Or, simply click here and here, to browse my library of over 500 questions and answers! Chances are someone already asked (and got an answer to) your question.
New! Comments
Have your say about what you just read! Leave me a comment in the box below.