Spiritual Baptists in SVG: from Persecution to Elevation

I PAY TRIBUTE to the Spiritual Baptist Church in SVG today on this the occasion of the inaugural public holiday in their honour entitled National Spiritual Baptist Day. We can describe it as the first and only local self-declared indigenous public holiday in tribute to a religious denomination here. In consideration of the history, I do not think that it could have been conferred in recognition of a more worthy group of Christians.

When I think about the experience of the Spiritual Baptist Church in SVG and several other Caribbean countries, I describe it as a journey from persecution to elevation.

In the Beatitudes, there is extensive discussion on persecution. According to Matthew 5:10-12, “10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’s sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”

The Spiritual Baptist are the very defi-nition of a group of people in this country which was persecuted for righteousness’s sake. They suffered many false accusations for the sake of their God. They suffered the fate of the prophets which went before them. In spite of this persecution, they continued to rejoice and be exceeding glad. They held fast to the promise of the Beatitudes.

The right of Spiritual Baptists to practice their faith in this country was outlawed for many years under a law that was passed in 1912 – the Shakers’s Prohibition Ordinance (Ordinance No. 13 of 1912). As a result of this law, Spiritual Baptists were harassed, arrested, dragged before the courts, imprisoned, fined, beaten, tortured, stigmatised, criminalised and subjected to many other forms of terrible treatment.

Nonetheless, the persecution did not break their spirit. They steadfastly resisted the imposition of ridiculous restrictions on their freedom of religion and persisted in their faith.

We can say that the elevation of the Spiritual Baptists from a position of persecution to the place of prominence that they enjoy in our society today took place in 4 stages.

They won a landmark victory in the courts in relation to their freedom of religion on the 21 st May 1951.

They were represented in this case by Robert Milton Cato who went on to become a Chief Minister, Premier and Prime Minister of this country. This victory weakened the force of the Prohibition Ordinance.

Subsequently, the Prohibition Ordinance was repealed by an Act of Parliament which was passed roughly 14 years later on 22 nd March 1965.

On the 28 th March 2002, the Parliament declared the 21 st May to be the Spiritual Baptist Official Recognition of Freedom to Worship Day. The final stage of the elevation was completed on Thursday 27 th August 2024 when the House of Assembly proclaimed the 21 st May to be a public holiday entitled National Spiritual Baptist Day.

This day carries significance of the Spiritual Baptists and everyone who believe in religious freedom and the freedom to worship. This public holiday has meaning.