Guyana

Guyana (officially known as the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, as well as British Guiana) is a country located in South America, lying on the continent's northern coast. Unlike other countries in South America, Guyana receives much of its cultural mores from the Caribbean islands influenced by England and the United States; likewise, it is the sole country on the mainland joined to the British Commonwealth of Nations.

Guyana's two primary religious faiths are Christianity and Hinduism. According to Guyana's census statistics, roughly 57% of the residents are Christian, with the denominations being a mixture of Protestants (Holiness, Presbyterians, Seventh-Day Adventists, Anglicans, Methodists, etc.) and Roman Catholics. In addition, a great proportion of the population practice Hinduism (brought to South America by indentured servants from East India), with roughly 28% believing its precepts. Other faiths include Sunnī Islam, Rastafarianism, and the Baha'i Faith. Four percent of the Guyanese state that they have no religious beliefs. Guyana is highly diverse, with a number of different races and ethnicities calling the country home. Likewise, the diversity of the citizens is visible in the various religious groups scattered about the country.

The Anglican Church is thought to be the largest Christian denomination in Guyana, with one estimate stating that it had roughly 125,000 believers. Roman Catholicism had approximately 94,000 believers during the mid-1980s, with the majority of them living in Georgetown. Although the Roman Catholics were a mixture of all racial and ethnic groups, the Portuguese were the most vocal and outgoing members of the congregation. Guyana's third largest denomination is the Presbyterian Church, which has approximately 40,000 adherents. Other Protestant churches with a substantial membership include the Methodists, Holiness (primarily Pentecostal with the central theme being charismatic services, centered on the gifts [charisms] of the Holy Spirit, e.g., speaking in tongues), and Seventh-Day Adventists, each comprising roughly 20,000 followers.

The influence of Christianity in Guyana's system of ethical principles and mores is due to the outcome of colonial history. When the Europeans moved to the land to plant sugarcane, they brought with them their overseers, their system of justice, and missionaries. With time, if a Guyanese native wanted inclusion within the ruling junta, he had to profess belief in Christianity as well as practice the dictates of the religion. Although Whites felt it useless to teach the Black slaves their religious beliefs, Christianity ultimately spread throughout the [Page 493]country. After slavery was abolished, Christianity grew to become an inherent part of the lives of the former slaves. When the East Indians arrived (during the late 1830s), they found Guyana strongly aligned with Christianity. It was not until the mid-1900s that the Indo-Guyanese became strong politically; thus, Hindus and their religious principles are now viewed as being equal with those of their Christian counterparts.

Most of the East Indian migrants were Hindu, and their belief system centered on Vaishnavite Hinduism. As is common throughout India, different castes had dissimilar rites and ceremonies. People of the higher castes prayed to the archetypal Hindu gods, Vishnu and Shiva. Today, Vaishnavite Hinduism is still the principal faith of the Indo-Guyanese.

...