Editing Rastafari (section)

== Definition ==

[[File:Street vendors in Zeerust.jpg|thumb|right|Two Rastafas in [[Zeerust]], South Africa; they are wearing and selling items that display their commitment to the religion]]

Rastafari has been described as a religion,{{sfnm|1a1=Gjerset|1y=1994|1pp=75, 76|2a1=Loadenthal|2y=2013|2p=3}} meeting many of the proposed definitions for what constitutes a religion,{{sfn|Chawane|2014|p=216}} and is legally recognised as such in various countries.{{sfn|Mhango|2008|pp=223, 225–226}} Some [[Religious studies|scholars of religion]] have labelled it an [[Abrahamic religion]],{{sfnm|1a1=Petray|1y=2020|1p=659|2a1=Weidner|2y=2021|2p=2}} while other scholars have also classified it as a [[new religious movement]],{{sfnm|1a1=Clarke|1y=1986|1p=11|2a1=Edmonds|2y=2012|2p=92|3a1=Sibanda|3y=2016|3p=182}} a [[sect]],{{sfn|Barrett|1997|p=viii}} a [[cult]],{{sfnm|1a1=Kitzinger|1y=1969|1p=240|2a1=Cashmore|2y=1983|2p=6}} and a [[revitalization movement|revitalisation movement]].{{sfn|Edmonds|2012|p=92}} Having arisen in Jamaica, it has been described as an Afro-Jamaican religion,{{sfn|Fernández Olmos|Paravisini-Gebert|2011|p=183}} and more broadly an Afro-Caribbean religion.{{sfnm|1a1=Hansing|1y=2001|1p=733|2a1=Hansing|2y=2006|2p=62}}

Although Rastafari focuses on Africa as a source of identity, it is a product of [[creolization|creolisation]] processes in the Americas,{{sfn|Soumahoro|2007|p=43}} described by the [[Hispanism|Hispanic studies]] scholars Margarite Fernández Olmos and Lizabeth Paravisini-Gebert as "a Creole religion, rooted in African, European, and Indian practices and beliefs".{{sfn|Fernández Olmos|Paravisini-Gebert|2011|p=192}} The scholar Ennis B. Edmonds also suggested that Rastafari was "emerging" as a [[world religion]], not because of the number of its adherents, but because of its global spread.{{sfn|Edmonds|2012|pp=71–72}} Many Rastas nevertheless reject descriptions of Rastafari as a religion, instead referring to it as a "way of life",{{sfnm|1a1=Cashmore|1y=1983|1p=188|2a1=Bedasse|2y=2010|2p=267|3a1=Edmonds|3y=2012|3p=92|4a1=Glazier|4y=2012|4p=614|5a1=Chawane|5y=2014|5p=214}} a "[[philosophy]]",{{sfn|Loadenthal|2013|p=6}} or a "[[spirituality]]".{{sfn|Chawane|2014|p=214}}

Emphasising its political stance, particularly in support of [[African nationalism]] and [[pan-Africanism]], some academics have characterised Rastafari as a political movement,{{sfnm|1a1=Kebede|1a2=Knottnerus|1y=1998|1p=502|2a1=Loadenthal|2y=2013|2p=4|3a1=Chawane|3y=2014|3p=218|4a1=Williams|4y=2017|4p=477}} a "politico-religious" movement,{{sfnm|1a1=Kitzinger|1y=1969|1p=240|2a1=Watson|2y=1973|2p=189|3a1=Ifekwe|3y=2008|3p=106|4a1=Fernández Olmos|4a2=Paravisini-Gebert|4y=2011|4p=187}} or a protest movement.{{sfnm|1a1=Watson|1y=1974|1p=329|2a1=Salter|2y=2005|2p=8}} It has alternatively been labelled a [[social movement]],{{sfnm|1a1=Watson|1y=1973|1p=189|2a1=Campbell|2y=1988|2p=78|3a1=Kebede|3a2=Knottnerus|3y=1998|3p=501|4a1=King|4y=2002|4p=136}} or more specifically as a [[new social movement]],{{sfn|Edmonds|2012|p=92}} and a cultural movement.{{sfn|Chevannes|1990|p=143}} Many Rastas or Rastafarians—as practitioners are known—nevertheless dislike the labelling of Rastafari as a "movement".{{sfn|Lake|1994|p=253}} In 1989, a British Industrial Tribunal concluded that, for the purposes of the [[Race Relations Act 1976]], Rastafarians could be considered an [[Ethnicity|ethnic]] group because they have a long, shared heritage which distinguished them from other groups, their own cultural traditions, a common language, and a common religion.{{sfnm|1a1=Banton|1y=1989|1p=153|2a1=Cashmore|2y=1989|2pp=158–160}}

Rastafari has continuously changed and developed,{{sfn|King|2002|p=13}} with significant doctrinal variation existing among practitioners depending on the group to which they belong.{{sfn|Barnett|2005|p=75}} It is not a unified movement,{{sfn|Simpson|1985|p=291}} and there has never been a single leader followed by all Rastafari.{{sfnm|1a1=Barnett|1y=2006|1p=881|2a1=Fernández Olmos|2a2=Paravisini-Gebert|2y=2011|2p=194}} It is thus difficult to make broad generalisations about the movement without obscuring the complexities within it.{{sfnm|1a1=Clarke|1y=1986|1p=49|2a1=Bedasse|2y=2010|2p=961}} The scholar of religion Darren J. N. Middleton suggested that it was appropriate to speak of "a plethora of ''Rasta spiritualities''" rather than a single phenomenon.{{sfn|Middleton|2006|p=158}}

The term "Rastafari" derives from "Ras Tafari Makonnen", the pre-regnal title of [[Haile Selassie]], the former [[Emperor of Ethiopia|Ethiopian emperor]] who occupies a central role in Rasta belief. The term "[[Ras (title)|Ras]]" means a duke or prince in the [[Ethiopian Semitic languages]]; "Tafari Makonnen" was Selassie's personal name.{{sfnm|1a1=Barrett|1y=1997|1p=82|2a1=Ifekwe|2y=2008|2p=111|3a1=Edmonds|3y=2012|3p=32|4a1=Chawane|4y=2014|4p=217}} It is unknown why the early Rastas adopted this form of Haile Selassie's name as the basis of the term for their religion.{{sfn|Barrett|1997|p=82}} As well as being the religion's name, "Rastafari" is also used for the religion's practitioners themselves.{{sfn|Chawane|2014|p=218}} Many commentators—including some academic sources{{sfnm|1a1=Forsythe|1y=1980|1p=64|2a1=Simpson|2y=1985|2p=291|3a1=Barrett|3y=1997|3pp=2, 103|4a1=King|4y=1998|4p=51|5a1=Middleton|5y=2006|5p=152|6a1=Fernández Olmos|6a2=Paravisini-Gebert|6y=2011|6p=183|7a1=Glazier|7y=2012|7p=614|8a1=Chawane|8y=2014|8p=218}} and some practitioners{{sfn|Barrett|1997|p=187}}—refer to the movement as "Rastafarianism".{{sfn|Cashmore|1983|p=8}} However, the term is disparaged by many Rastafari, who believe that the use of ''-ism'' implies religious doctrine and institutional organisation, things they wish to avoid.{{sfnm|1a1=Cashmore|1y=1983|1p=8|2a1=Chawane|2y=2014|2p=218}}