By Devon Dick, ContributorTHE RECENT quotations from the census figures of 2000 tend to highlight the churches that are declining and those which are growing, to the neglect that, as a unit, the data show that the Jamaican Church is in eclipse. In addition, the Jamaican Church has lost its importance and prominence in the lives of Jamaicans and the affairs of the nation. So the more worrying factor is that the Jamaican Church as the collective Christian presence and influence has been on the decline.
Even more worrying is that the next census, which is six years away, might show further erosion, if the baptism figures of the Baptists, since the last census, is an indication of what is happening in the wider church. In 1999, 3,390 new members were added to the church through baptisms; 2,519 in 2000 and last year it was 1,925, a decline of almost 50 per cent in three years.
The Jamaican Church is in eclipse, which is not only seen in the figures, but by other developments.
POLITICAL ACTIVISM
The Jamaican Church was active in political activism in the 1800s, agitating for the enfranchisement of the Blacks. That is no longer an issue. The issues have more to do with garrison politics and free and fair elections.
Unfortunately, the Jamaican church as an institution is not seen in the forefront for political change and constitutional reform. There was a time when the Church would mobilise the populace to vote for persons who would look out for the interests of the underclass. However, recent attempts at forming Christian political parties have failed miserably.
The CUP of the 1980s failed to get wide support and the recent entrant, JANU, did not fare any better. The Church's views are not sought in formulating political parties manifestos, though they are invited to sit on committees that affect national policy from time to time including the committee that examined political tribalism.
Formerly, the Jamaican Church was seen as the voice of the poor, a champion for justice and advocate for the rights of children. Now civil groups with Christians in these bodies are more identified with these issues rather than the institutional church. In fact, the media and talk show hosts are often perceived as the watchdogs against the excesses of the State and Private Sector rather than the Jamaican Church. whose consistent mobilisation of the public around these issues is often absent.
In economic empowerment, the Jamaican Church has a proud history and heritage. The Church provided 50,000 housing lots through the Free Village System for homeless Jamaicans.
MORTGAGES
Through Church-sponsored Building Societies Jamaican National and Victoria Mutual the Church would have issued 70,000 mortgages over a 30-year period to the late 1990s. Now, there are approximately 400,000 squatters and one can hear the cry of the people to the Church being 'What have you done for me lately in housing solutions'. The championing of workers' rights has been ceded to the trade unions and now the Church is largely seen as a place of handouts rather than a home to formulate a challenge to the systems and principalities that enslave.
The Jamaican Church continues to make a significant contribution to education, primarily because of the investment of the past. The Church built 600 primary schools but none since 1892. The Church is responsible for 43 public high schools but none has been built since 1986. The Church manages most of the teachers' colleges but the last one built by a denomination was in 1965. There is still a need for space at all levels in order to deliver quality education.
The eclipse of the Jamaican Church will be exacerbated if casino gambling is introduced into Jamaica. This is the issue with which the Jamaican Church has been closely identified since the 1960s and a defeat will be seen as a nail in its coffin. The new president of the JHTA, Mr. Godfrey Dyer, is very pro-casino and there will be an interesting challenge for the new president of the JCC, Reverend Philip Robinson, and the new president of the JAE, Reverend Rennard White. Will the voice of the Church be heeded in this matter?
The declining figures of church affiliation and the evident declining influence over the lives of the citizens and institutions are bases to conclude that the Jamaican Church is in eclipse.
The Rev Devon Dick is pastor of the Boulevard Baptist Church.
