ABSTRACT
Because Rastafarianism is not recognized as a religion in Jamaica and because some Rastafarians eschew contact with white society, the number of Rastafarians is unknown. They are estimated at about 100,000 in Jamaica with considerably smaller populations in Great Britain, United States, Australia, Ethiopia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and Ghana. Rastafarianism has spread primarily as a result of the immigration of Jamaican Rastafarians to other nations, not as a result of Rastafarians attracting converts in other nations. Rastafarianism is in the tradition of Black nationalist movements as Rastafarians emphasize ties to and an eventual return to Africa.
