The Rastafarian movement is a monotheistic religion founded in the West Indies based on the ideas of Marcus Garvey. They identify with the Israelites and Ethiopia is considered the promised land. They follow Old Testament laws and use marijuana as a sacrament. The movement has around one million followers worldwide and is more a way of life than a religion. They use dreadlocks and the colors red, green, and gold.
The Rastafarian movement is actually a monotheistic religion founded in the West Indies. It is based on the ideas of Marcus Garvey who call for the return of all blacks to Africa and the creation of a country ruled exclusively by blacks. Rastafarians identify with the Israelites, or chosen people, of the Old Testament. Ethiopia is considered the promised land and all other countries outside of Africa are called Babylon, place of exile. They follow a number of Old Testament biblical laws, forbidding pork, shellfish, milk, coffee, and salt. However, some of their beliefs differ markedly from other religious practices such as the use of marijuana and cannabis as a religious sacrament.
The tenets of the Rastafarian movement are a fusion of the Abrahamic biblical tradition and a range of black power philosophies, particularly those found in black separatism, black nationalism, and pan-Africanism. He also took inspiration from the Maroons and the 19th century religious movement Bedwardism. These disparate sources were consolidated into the Rastafarian Movement when Haile Selassie’s accession to the Ethiopian imperial throne in 1930. Adherents of the Rastafarian Movement understood that this was the fulfillment of a prophecy promulgated in 1927 by Marcus Mosiah Garvey, whose ideas are considered an influence training on the Rastafarian Movement.
In 1927, Garvey prophesied, “Look to Africa, for there a king will be crowned.” With Selassie on the Ethiopian throne, the Rastafarians realized that the prophecy had come true. Selassie, Rastafarians believe, was the second incarnation of the god Jah, who came to earth a second time after the teachings of his first temporal manifestation, Jesus Christ, were corrupted by the iniquities of Babylon. Despite his death in 1975, many Rastafarians believe Selassie is still alive and will one day return to bring his followers to Zion.
Today, the Rastafarian Movement has around one million followers worldwide. In the 1970s the movement found new followers among fans of reggae music, especially those of pop star Bob Marley. It is considered a more liberal and loosely structured religion than others in the Abrahamic tradition, and some adherents insist that it is more a way of life than a religion, as evidenced by the movement finding adherents across nations as diverse as Japan, the Russia and the natives. New Zealanders, the Maoris. However, common to all of these Rastafarian groups is the use of cannabis, the use of dreadlocks and the colors red, green and gold.
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