Religion in Barbados is predominantlyChristian. Religious freedom is established by law and generally enforced in practice, although some minority religious groups have complaints about government practices that interfere with their beliefs.
Nearly half of the population in Barbados isnon-religious or otherwise does not identify with any religious institution, with 45.5% of the population (62,000 people out of 136,365) reporting no religion in the 2021 Barbados census.[1]
According to Historian Larry Gragg (Missouri University of Science and Technology - 2009), theQuakers community was first concentrated in and around Barbados before movingen masse Pennsylvania. The island was the first stop for slave ships coming from Africa, and the Quakers developed a balanced social environment "to challenge the practices of the planter class". In a 1860 census, 500 of the 20,000 white people in Barbados were Quakers. However, by the end of the 18th century, the Quakers culture had vanished, partly due to the persecution of theChurch of England.[2]
The reference workReligions of the World provides the following data forBarbados:[3]
| Religion | Followers in 1970 | Followers in 2010 | % of Population 2010 | % of population in 2022[4] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christians | 235,000 | 284,000 | 95.5% | 75,6% |
| Protestants | 50,600 | 100,000 | 33.7% | 66.4% |
| Anglicans | 90,000 | 85,600 | 28.8% | 23.9% |
| Pentecostal | 19.5% | |||
| Adventist | 5.9% | |||
| Methodist | 4.2% | |||
| Wesleyan | 3.4% | |||
| Nazarene | 3.2% | |||
| Church of God | 2.4% | |||
| Baptist | 1.8% | |||
| Moravian | 1.2% | |||
| other Protestant | 0.9% | |||
| Roman Catholic | 3.8% | |||
| Jehovah's Witness | 2% | |||
| other Christian | 3,4% | |||
| Rastafarian | 1% | |||
| None | 20.6% | |||
| Others | 8,900 | 16,000 | 32.1% | 1.5% |
| unspecified | 1.2% | |||
| Agnostics | 2,400 | 5,100 | 1.7% | |
| Bahá’ís | 1,300 | 3,600 | 1.2% | |
| Muslims | 400 | 2,300 | 0.8% | |
| Hindus | 100 | 980 | 0.3% | |
| Atheists | 0 | 700 | 0.2% | |
| New religionists | 50 | 480 | 0.2% | |
| Buddhists | 0 | 120 | 0.0% | |
| Spiritists | 0 | 60 | 0.0% | |
| Jews | 30 | 40 | 0.0% | |
| Ethnoreligionists | 0 | 30 | 0.0% | |
| Total Population | 239,000 | 297,000 | 100.0% | 100.0% |
Although Catholics are missing from the above chart, the same reference book gives their percentage as 4 percent in 1980 and 4.2 percent in 2000.[5]
TheRastafarian Movement was introduced to Barbados in 1975,[6] influenced by its Jamaican origins and the teachings of Marcus Garvey.[7] As of 2010, Rastafarians represented about 1% of the national population, or roughly 3,000 people.[4]
In 2019, the government legalized the religious use of cannabis for Rastafarians and granted 60 acres (24 ha) of land for cultivation.[8] Some community leaders have criticized the Sacramental Cannabis Act for limiting its use to places of worship and requiring permits for consumption elsewhere.[8]
In April 2025, the University of the West Indies at Cave Hill hosted a panel marking the 50th anniversary of the Rastafari Nyabinghi Tabernacle in Mount Carmel, St. John, recognizing its role in preserving Rastafarian culture in Barbados.[9]
Theconstitution ofBarbados provides for the freedom of religion and prohibits discrimination based on creed;[10] there is a law against "blasphemous libel" but it is unenforced.
Religious groups are allowed to establish private schools and provide religious instruction, with some support from the government; education in Christian values is taught in primary schools, with several religions being taught at secondary level (students may opt out).[10]
The local community launched the bi-weekly publicationThe Rastafari Vision (TRV) in 2021.[11] Representatives of theRastafari community have objected to mandatory vaccinations for schoolchildren.[10]
