Rastafari has been seen as a political organization, a youth movement, and a millenarian cult. This lively collection of papers challenges these categories and offers a "new approach" to the study of Rastafari. Chevannes and his contributors suggest that we can better understand Rastafari-and Caribbean culture, for that matter-by seeing the movement as both a departure from and a continuance of Revivalism, an African-Caribbean folk religion. By linking Rastafari to Revival, we can enrich our understanding of an African-Caribbean worldview, and we can appreciate Rastafari not only as a political force but as a powerful expression of African-Caribbean culture and tradition. Barry Chevannes provides a concise overview of Rastafari and Revivalism and clearly lays out the volume's "new approach." Leading scholars of Rastafari illustrate and develop the theme with chapters on Rastafari as resistance, the origin of the dreadlocks, Rastafari and language, women in African-Caribbean religions and more. With chapters that range from the specific to the general, this volume will be important to specialists of Caribbean religion and the African diaspora and to those with a burgeoning interest in Rastafari. The contributors include Jean Besson, Ellis Cashmore, Barry Chevannes, John P. Homiak, Roland Littlewood, H.U.E Thoden van Velzen, and Wilhelmina van Wetering.

Seminar paper from the year 1998 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, University of Salzburg, language: English, abstract: Writing a paper that is called “Rastafarianism And Pan-Africanism In The Caribbean” represents a great challenge to me. The two terms “Rastafarianism” and “Pan-Africanism” are widely unknown among Central Europeans and especially among native German speakers, and I had been no exception before I dealt extensively with this topic. Therefore, although this is a literary term paper, I will present historical, religious and sociological facts along with linguistic annotations as a basic background to my literary studies in order to inform the reader and give him a more or less detailed survey ON Rastafarian culture and society. I regard it as necessary to give short definitions of Rastafarianism and Pan-Africanism and their relations to one another in the beginning, for the simple reason that many readers will hardly ever have come across these two terms before, but I will keep them short, because everything will be discussed in detail further on, at the examples of literary texts. These literary texts will comprise mainly songs, because the main possibility of expression for Rastafarian spokesmen is their music – Reggae.

Document from the year 2009 in the subject History - America, University of Bremen, language: English, abstract: The emergence and expansion of Rastafarianism has been a subject for some scholarly study in the Caribbean. The movement has flourished in due process as an outlet to a huge social and psychological confusions and decades-long conflicts inside the movement and society of the islands. To many sociologists, it is the inevitable consequence of Africans in Diaspora, people seeking to define their own identity and psychological needs. It is a movement created not by a revolution but out of confusions and in search of their roots with a Black God on the top. Rastafarianism presents a mixture of politics and theology that has emerged out of its formative years, as they call it "in the Babylon". In creating their own religion the Rastafarians depend not only on the historical, social or empirical experience of African descendants in the Diaspora but also for their own analysis to determine an active plan for liberation. Regardless of other social norms, they draw on the transcendental sources of human sensibility, theocracy and imagination. For as persons who see themselves to be persecuted, wronged and deprived, to be all but trapped in a situation of persistent material poverty including cultural degradation, the only way they see to get out of this situation "Babylon" is through an apocalypse. From the early Christian history we know that small groups who have worshipped false gods or established their own Temples never succeeded and their religions have corroded including their followers. However, it seems different with the Rastafarians; because their movement is growing stronger -speeding in almost all the continents. This book is in part a revised version of both books "Babylon Muss Fallen, Germany 1989 and "The Rastafarians: In search of Their Identity, Puerto Rico 1985" and in part a contribution of Rastafarian elders, women, activists and musicians.

The Rastafari Movement: A North American and Caribbean Perspective provides a historical and ideological overview of the Rastafari movement in the context of its early beginnings in the island of Jamaica and its eventual establishment in other geographic locations. Building on previous scholarship and the author's own fieldwork, the text goes on to provide a rich comparative analysis of the Rastafari movement with other Black theological movements, specifically the Nation of Islam and the Black Hebrew Israelites in the context of the United States. The text explores the following topics: • Pan-Africanism, Black nationalism and Rastafari; • gender dynamics; • globalization; • concepts and symbols; • other Black theological movements. This text is ideal for students of religious studies, sociology, anthropology, African Diaspora studies, African American studies, and Black studies who wish to gain an understanding of the history and beliefs of the Rastafari Movement.

This anthology explores Rastafari religion, culture, and politics in Jamaica and other parts of the African diaspora. An Afro-Caribbean religious and cultural movement that sprang from the streets of Kingston, Jamaica, in the 1930s, today Rastafari has close to one million adherents. The basic message of Rastafari—the dismantling of all oppressive institutions and the liberation of humankind—even has strong appeal to non-believers who are captivated by reggae music, the lyrics, and the "immortal spirit" of its enormously popular practitioner, Bob Marley. Probing into Rastafari's still evolving belief system, political goals, and cultural expression, the contributors to this volume emphasize the importance of Africana history and the Caribbean context. Author note:Nathaniel Samuel Murrellis Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Religion at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, and Visiting Professor at the Caribbean Graduate School of Theology in Kingston, Jamaica.William David Spencerserves as Pastor of Encouragement at Pilgrim Church in Beverly, MA, and was an Adjunct Professor of Theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary's Center for Urban Ministerial Education in Boston. He has authored, co-authored, or editedThe Prayer of Life of Jesus, Mysterium and Mystery: The Clerical Crime Novel, God through the Looking Glass, Joy through the Night, 2 Corinthians: Bible Study CommentaryandThe Global God.Adrian Anthony McFarlaneis Associate Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY. He is author ofA Grammar of FearandEvil–A Husserlian-Wittgensteinian Hermeneutic.

From its obscure beginnings in Jamaica in the early 1930s, Rastafari has grown into an international socio-religious movement. It is estimated that 700,000 to 1 million people worldwide have embraced Rastafari, and adherents of the movement can be found in most of the major population centres and many outposts of the world. Rastafari: A Very Short Introduction provides an account of this widespread but often poorly understood movement. Ennis B. Edmonds looks at the essential history of Rastafari, including its principles and practices and its internal character and configuration. He examines its global spread, and its far-reaching influence on cultural and artistic production in the Caribbean and beyond. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.