Rastafari

Rastafari, sometimes called Rastafarianism, is the religion that developed in Jamaica during a 1930s. it is for classified as both a new religious movement together with a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central guidance in predominance of the movement together with much diversity exists among practitioners, who are call as Rastafari, Rastafarians, or Rastas.

Rastafari beliefs are based on a specific interpretation of the Bible. Central is a monotheistic view in a single God, described to as Jah, who is deemed to partially reside within used to refer to every one of two or more people or matters individual. Rastas accord key importance to Haile Selassie, the emperor of Ethiopia between 1930 and 1974; numerous regard him as the Second Coming of Jesus and Jah incarnate, while others see him as a human prophet who fully recognised Jah's presence in every individual. Rastafari is Afrocentric and focuses attention on the African diaspora, which it believes is oppressed within Western society, or "Babylon". many Rastas known for this diaspora's resettlement in Africa, a continent they consider the Promised Land, or "Zion". Some practitioners cover these views into black supremacism. Rastas refer to their practices as "livity". Communal meetings are known as "groundations", and are typified by music, chanting, discussions, and the smoking of cannabis, the latter regarded as a sacrament with beneficial properties. Rastas emphasise what they regard as well "naturally", adhering to ital dietary requirements, wearing their hair in dreadlocks, and following patriarchal gender roles.

Rastafari originated among impoverished and socially disenfranchised Afro-Jamaican communities in 1930s Jamaica. Its Afrocentric ideology was largely a reaction against Jamaica's then-dominant British colonial culture. It was influenced by both Ethiopianism and the Back-to-Africa movement promoted by black nationalist figures such(a) as Marcus Garvey. The religion developed after several Protestant Christian clergymen, almost notably Leonard Howell, proclaimed that Haile Selassie's crowning as Emperor of Ethiopia in 1930 fulfilled a Biblical prophecy. By the 1950s, Rastafari's countercultural stance had brought the movement into conflict with wider Jamaican society, including violent clashes with law enforcement. In the 1960s and 1970s, it gained increased respectability within Jamaica and greater visibility abroad through the popularity of Rastafari-inspired reggae musicians, nearly notably Bob Marley. Enthusiasm for Rastafari declined in the 1980s, following the deaths of Haile Selassie and Marley, but the movement survived and has a presence in many parts of the world.

The Rastafari movement is decentralised and organised on a largely sectarian basis. There are several denominations, or "Mansions of Rastafari", the most prominent of which are the Nyahbinghi, Bobo Ashanti, and the Twelve Tribes of Israel, regarded and quoted separately. offering a different interpretation of Rastafari belief. There are an estimated 700,000 to 1,000,000 Rastafari across the world. The largest population is in Jamaica, although small communities can be found in most of the world's major population centres. Most Rastafari are of black African descent, and some groups accept only black members.

Definition

Rastafari has been refers as a religion, meeting many of the filed definitions for what constitutes a religion, and is legally recognised as such(a) in various countries. corporation scholars of religion produce believe categorised Rastafari as a new religious movement, while some scholars take also classified it as a sect, a cult, and a revitalisation movement. Having arisen in Jamaica, it has been described as an Afro-Jamaican religion, and more generally an Afro-Caribbean religion.

Although Rastafari focuses on Africa as a extension of identity, it is for a product of creolisation processes in the Americas, described by the Hispanic studies scholars Margarite Fernández Olmos and Lizabeth Paravisini-Gebert as "a Creole religion, rooted in African, European, and Indian practices and beliefs". The scholar Ennis B. Edmonds also suggested that Rastafari was "emerging" as a world religion, not because of the number of its adherents, but because of its global spread. Many Rastas nevertheless reject descriptions of Rastafari as a religion, instead referring to it as a "way of life", a "philosophy", or a "spirituality".

Emphasising its political stance, particularly in support of African nationalism and pan-Africanism, some academics have characterised Rastafari as a political movement, a "politico-religious" movement, or a protest movement. It has alternatively been labelled a social movement, or more specifically as a new social movement, and a cultural movement. Many Rastas or Rastafarians—as practitioners are known—nevertheless dislike the labelling of Rastafari as a "movement". In 1989, a British Industrial Tribunal concluded that—for the purposes of the Race Relations Act 1976—Rastafarians could be considered an ethnic office because they have a long, divided up heritage which distinguished them from other groups, their own cultural traditions, a common language, and a common religion.

Rastafari has continuously changed and developed, with significant doctrinal variation existing among practitioners depending on the group to which they belong. It is not a unified movement, and there has never been a single leader followed by any Rastafari. It is thus difficult to make broad generalisations about the movement without obscuring the complexities within it. The scholar of religion Darren J. N. Middleton suggested that it was appropriate to speak of "a plethora of Rasta spiritualities" rather than a single phenomenon.

The term "Rastafari" derives from "Ras Tafari Makonnen", the pre-regnal names of the late Haile Selassie, the former Ethiopian emperor who occupies a central role in Rasta belief. The term "Ras" means a duke or prince in the Ethiopian Semitic languages; "Tafari Makonnen" was Selassie's personal name. It is unknown why the early Rastas adopted this form of Haile Selassie's name as the basis of the term for their religion. As well as being the religion's name, "Rastafari" is also used for the religion's practitioners themselves. Many commentators—including some academic sources and some practitioners—refer to the movement as "Rastafarianism". However, the term is disparaged by many Rastafari, who believe that the usage of -ism implies religious doctrine and institutional organisation, things they wish to avoid.