ABSTRACT
Despite its problematic historical connections to slavery and colonialism, religious participation has been a functional support mechanism for globally displaced black people. Within West Indian life, religion has been centrally positioned in rites of passage, communal solidarity and broader factors related to social bonding. Within the context of the lives of Commonwealth West Indian migrants to Britain, it has acted as a social stabiliser and eased the psychological resentment of alienation, racism and discrimination. As we can attest, West Indian immigrants came to Britain schooled in high Christian values and a Calvinist-informed work ethic. For some, securing employment was crucial on two fronts: first, employment provided the individual with a higher level of material existence for themselves and their families, and second, as many of the Windrush arrivals were fiercely patriotic to Britain, it enabled them to proudly serve the ‘Mother Country’ whilst concurrently returning glory to God. However, it is instructive to keep in mind that in terms of sociopolitical consciousness, the maturing second generation of blacks in Britain were not as loyal and partisan in their Britishness as their forebears. Instead they chose to look to Africa via the Caribbean in order to address their spiritual and religious concerns. This was fuelled mainly by the popularity at the time of reggae music, and the teachings of Rastafari that lay at its core. The importance of neo-religious movements such Rastafari in the lives of the post-Windrush generation is that they had a lasting effect on shaping black identity in Britain, by directly addressing their awkward existence in post-industrialised Britain.
