Rastas and Ethiopians

Reading the Wikipedia article on the Rastafari movement, I noticed a similarity between it and Ethiopian Christianity in that both movements were intimately connected with their cultural environment. The Ethiopians used the Kebra Negast's story of descent from Solomon and Sheba to justify their nation, making it the greatest nation in the world in their eyes (the Promised Land). The black (possibly former slave) Rastas, likewise, brought themselves out of oblivion into special status when they saw Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia, the only black king of the time, as Christ in his second coming. Their original doctrine of black superiority makes it clear that their racial oppression was a huge factor in the emergence of this religion, even though they changed it later to promote racial tolerance by all. They still view any non-Rastas as corrupted by the world, which they call Babylon. Africa is seen as Zion, or the Promised Land, to which they all desire to return so they can escape white oppression (or downpression, as they would say). In her latest post, Heidi says that the black peasants in Jamaica--the birthplace of the Rastafari movement--lived in plain view of the much richer upper classes. Their oppression was probably always on their minds, so Rastafari brought them an escape from that depressing fact. With the belief that they were immortal and destined to return to their fatherland, Africa, the Rastas were better able to deal with their hard lives. The Ethiopians, though they weren't oppressed like blacks in the Americas, still had to deal with the Jews' talk of their superiority (in the Bible if not also in person from travelers or immigrants). As a result, both groups reinterpreted scripture and added to it with their own stories. And each story established the particular high status of the group who wrote it.

We've discussed how religion changes with time due to different interpretations of old ideas, traditions, and texts, but through these two examples we begin to see why. At least in these cases, the changes are very beneficial to the group in question, raising their morale and self-importance. Robin Marantz Henig quotes William James in the article we read at the beginning of term called "Why We Believe" as saying that religion fills people with "a new zest which adds itself like a gift to life... an assurance of safety and a temper of peace..." (62). Both of these situations fit that description, making the followers of the new religions happier in their current lives. However, when their culture changes again, their religious beliefs may also change to fit that new situation, again giving them a way to feel content.