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224 D Dominica The people of volcanic, rainforest-draped Dominica nurture a traditional blend of conservative Roman Catholicism (see Roman Catholic Church—Anglophone Caribbean ) and a complex set of secular beliefs about nature and human beings’ proper role as arbiters and residents among its varied mysteries. At least ten active points of volcanism threaten Dominica’s lush landscape. Hurricanes frequently storm through the area, wreaking destruction and mayhem on the sixty-odd village communities that mostly cling to its thirty-two-mile-long leeward and windward coasts. The rain-soaked, montane-forested interior offers both bounty and challenge to the people who plumb its depths in search of sustenance. The alternately raging and tranquil seas that surround the island similarly pose danger and a promise of redemption for its approximately eighty-one thousand inhabitants . Small wonder then that Dominicans have always professed a healthy respect for their environment as well as a strong sense of the limits to their own opportunities and capabilities. But modernity brings at least the prospect of radical change to this underpopulated, largely ignored island nation and its tradition-minded residents. The late twentieth century witnessed a partial transformation in the religious complexion of the island. While the influence of the Rastafari of Jamaica made headlines for a time in the 1970s (see Rastafari —Eastern Caribbean), very important were the fundamentalist Protestant denominations (see Fundamentalism; Protestantism) such as the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Pentecostal churches, Baptist churches, Jehovah’s Witnesses , and the insular, nonevangelical Church of Yahweh that arrived from the United States and established themselves in Dominica. Together, these churches thrive within a larger secular context of globalization, free trade, and foreign media bombardment that portends dramatic change in the social fabric of Dominica’s traditional familial relationships, postcolonial governmental and educational institutions, and economic base.The religious shift may also signal significant changes in cultural attitudes toward the physical environment and the social cohesion of village communities. Historically, Dominicans paid little heed to time as an organizational concept beyond the passage of kawem, the dry season, into livennaj, the wet season. Indeed, the largely tactical maneuvers of agrarian work itself dictate the tasks and time frames in which they are accomplished. This process often eschews the rigid schedules and routines of the workaday industrial world. The farmer who plants his crop by the light of the new moon does so out of traditional belief and custom. The industrial worker has a strictly timed schedule imposed on him by the authority his boss commands for the purpose of enhancing worker production and corporate profit. The recent development of nascent industries in tourism, communications, manufacturing, and hydroelectric power introduces new strategies of time management and efficient energy production along with occupational diversity . These require new social attitudes as well as occupational skills. Increasingly, young Dominicans receive better secular education. Many eventually graduate from the local community college only to find that slow industrial growth limits their occupational opportunities to the family garden plot or fishing boat supplemented with temporary jobs in road repair or construction. Exposed to the material promise of late capitalism but unable to reap its benefits locally, young Dominicans almost always emigrate to more developed Caribbean islands, Great Britain, Canada, or the United States for as long as thirty years before they eventually return . For those who remain, Protestant evangelism offers a new reflexivity or self-awareness that places them at odds with local Roman Catholicism. Catholic parishioners may experience personal revelations of faith that are deeply felt and life sustaining. But the church itself, in the person of the priest, interprets and evaluates these experiences for the believer. The priest is God’s representative on Earth. His interpretations are therefore sacrosanct for all issues that operate in a religious context. Evangelical Protestant churches permit a much higher degree of individual freedom to personally evaluate and interpret experiences of faith. The church pastor influences but does not absolutely dictate individual religious belief. The wider theological doctrine that defines a given denomination ’s identity allows for differing individual interpretations of specific scripture. Charismatic expressions of personal faith during worship services are much more common in Protestant churches than Roman Catholic. Thus, actual control of the ritual process often gravitates to the congregation in many Protestant services. This transforms rank-and-file church members from passive spectators or directed participants into active builders of the ritual itself.This characteristic marks one of the most attractive aspects of the evangelical worship service for Dominicans accustomed to...
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