Anguilla

One of the smallest inhabited Caribbean islands, Anguilla's populace is heavily Christian, but the island is an important location for other traditions as well. The areas known as Big Springs and Fountain Cavern seem to have been large ceremonial spaces for the early Anguillans, though the [Page 39]exact nature of the ceremonies practiced remains unknown. A British overseas territory since 1980, its inhabitants are largely of mixed Welsh, Irish, and British descent, along with a large West African body descended mostly from victims of the slave trade. A 2001 survey reported Anguillans to be 40% Anglican, 33% Methodist, 7% Seventh-Day Adventist, 5% Baptist, and 3% Roman Catholic. The remaining 12% of the population represent religions such as Obeah, a syncretic religion based on West African religious practices with Catholic trappings, as well as Rastafarianism. Anguilla is the birthplace of Robert Athlyi Rogers, founder of the religion known as the Afro-Athlican Constructive Gaathly and author of the Holy Piby, an important text for the Rastafari movement.

The earliest evidence of a settlement on Anguilla has been dated as early as 1300 BCE—a tribe of Awaraks, whose society stretched to around 600 CE. The first English colonists arrived in 1650 from neighboring St. Kitts, looking to extend their tobacco and corn crop. The poor crop yields of Anguilla and famine in the 17th century did not halt attempts to create a plantation-style economy that included the importation of slaves mainly from West Africa in the 18th century. The failure of that economy, followed by the outlawing of slavery and the exodus of plantation owners back to England, resulted in the current demographics, and the religious institutions that played a role in the short history of colonization are still represented. In recent years, Christian denominations not linked to British colonization have been on the rise, especially Pentecostalism and the Church of God.

Religion and the state have developed a balanced relationship in Anguilla during the 21st century, but that balance has been contested in its development. The island's first Carnivale, celebrated in 1961, for instance, was opposed by the local churches, resulting in the banning of the Carnivale for several years following. Its reinstitution likewise was owed to the churches, especially the Anglican Church, which held its bazaar on Emancipation Day, the 1st Monday in August. In 1974, the Carnivale was attached to the bazaar with great success, and in subsequent years, it outgrew the Anglican reach, resulting in the church promptly protesting against its “heathenistic” character. The Carnivale's success was accompanied by its direction under the Anguilla Cultural and Social Society, and the first independent Carnivale outside the bounds of the Anglican Church brought the most people to the island ever. It has since become a celebrated part of Anguillan life, and today it enjoys support from all denominations on the island.