Pulpit-powered values - Clergymen credit Church as family tops ranking in survey of what Jamaicans hold most important  

Despite religion and spirituality ranking fourth among the things Jamaicans value most, the Church’s belief system continues to influence the significant importance citizens place on family - which a recent survey identified as the thing Jamaicans hold most dear - two local clergymen have argued.

Their assertion comes in response to the presentation of the findings of Market Research Services Ltd’s (MRSL) Heart of Jamaicans Survey, which identified family, children’s education, being independent, religion/spirituality, and personal education as the top five values most important to Jamaicans.

Reverend Devon Dick, pastor of the Boulevard Baptist Church in St Andrew, stated that he was initially surprised at the ranking Jamaicans assigned to religion/spirituality, but noted that its importance is underscored with it still being in the top five.

“In Jamaica, part of the reason why family is so important is because of the Church and the rites of the Church, starting from dedication of infants to baptising persons, to marriage, to death. All of these things happen within the Church, and it is because the Church places such a high value on family,” he told The Gleaner.

“For the Church, family is a very important part of the Church’s life and family life value so, in a sense, family and Christianity, spirituality, go hand in hand,” he added.

The nationwide survey, conducted between November 17 and December 10, 2024, sampled 1,100 Jamaicans age 18 and older and sought to measure the values shaping the country’s social and cultural outlook. It has a plus three per cent margin of error at the 95 per cent level of confidence.

The survey revealed that, despite the unity of the country on family, young Jamaicans 18–24 years are less likely to consider religion/spirituality or children's education as essential. This, it noted, could be an effect of ‘stage in life’, since these individuals are less likely to have taken on parental roles or made intense spiritual commitments.

Additionally, older Jamaicans, 65 years and over, pay less attention to their own schooling, but care more about respect, niceness, and spiritual life. These can be more rooted in their longer life experience.

The survey also found that those in the higher socio-economic group are less likely to mention children's education or rules and regulations as being among their most important concerns, but value kindness and respect.

Further, it revealed that men, especially the youngest, 18–24 years, and oldest, (65 years and over, cohorts, were less inclined towards religion, children's education, and social norms.

Dick also contended that the Church's role in education is equally important.

“The value placed on education comes from the Church because, before and after Emancipation, it was the Church that wanted to educate the general population, not the State. So we have to see the emphasis being placed on education as a value which was taught and practised by the church,” he said.

It's a perspective that is shared by Bishop Dr Alvin Bailey, president of the Jamaica Evangelical Alliance, who told The Gleaner that despite what he described as the “marring inadequacy of the Jamaican education system”, some of the best-performing schools are owned by churches.

“Education is high, the Church is playing a significant role in that; family is high, the Church is playing a significant role in that. The home and the Church are [together] still one of the most positive institutions of socialisation in this country,” he said.

According to him, the results of the survey reinforce the fact that Jamaica is a Christian country, with its values deeply intertwined with the beliefs of religion.

The survey noted ‘status or position in my community’, ‘information about matters impacting the community of residence’, and ‘living life one day at a time’ as the top three things Jamaicans value the least.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com