Religion

From Seminar 2: The Peopling of New York City

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Introduction

What does loud drums, "charismatic" praise and worship, and many devas have in common? These diverse elements are incorporated in the many West Indian religions we studied. New York City has a large population of West Indians from the Caribbean diaspora that practice these beliefs. With its dense West Indian population, Flatbush, Brooklyn was examined for the ways in which migrants maintained cultural, economic, social, and kin ties between NYC, their home countries and elsewhere. These ties are reflective of African, Indian and West Indian diasporas within New York City. The religions that we studied were Hinduism, Vodou, Christianity, and Rastafari.

We had various Religious Resources, including academic articles, books, and field work. Interviews were an important part of our research and field work.We learned about social and cultural issues through academic research.

Abstract

This project concentrated on how religion played a role in the everyday lives of individuals in the West Indian community. The impact of religion was seen from a social point, cultural and economic standpoint. Five individual research papers contributed to this project and our resources included online publications, newspapers, academic journals and scholarly articles. Fieldwork was conducted mainly in Flatbush, Brooklyn, where we visited an assortment of houses of worship. Three of the five individual papers will examine three distinct religions, which play a pivotal role in the shaping of the West Indian community of Flatbush, Brooklyn:

1. Rastafarianism: its unique philosophies on “living life” as well as the reinforcing the power it has over ties within the West Indian community.

2. Hinduism: its metamorphosis over the generations and a comparison to South Indian Hinduism.

3. Vodouism: its cultural, social and economic implications including the rifts that are caused within the community due to the controversial nature of the religion.

4. Christianity

a) The West Indian community associated with religious institutes and their impact upon communities in Brooklyn.

b) The West Indian community associated with religious institutes and their impact upon communities abroad.

Work Cited

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