Rastafari
monotheistic Abrahamic religion
Rastafari is an Abrahamic religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control of the movement and much diversity exists among practitioners, who are known as Rastafari, Rastafarians, or Rastas.
Rastafari beliefs are based on an interpretation of the Christian Bible. Central to the religion is a monotheistic belief in a single God, referred to as Jah, who partially resides within each individual. Rastas accord key importance to Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia between 1930 and 1974. Many see him as the Second Coming of Jesus and Jah incarnate; others deem him a human prophet. Rastafari is Afrocentric and focuses attention on the African diaspora, which it believes is oppressed within "Babylon," meaning Western capitalist society. Many Rastas call for this diaspora's resettlement in Africa, a continent they consider "Zion", the Promised Land. Rastas refer to their practices as "livity", which includes adhering to Ital dietary requirements, wearing their hair in dreadlocks, and following patriarchal gender roles.
“Rastafari” enters the record as monotheistic Abrahamic religion. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Rastafari, monotheistic and Abrahamic can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Rastafari” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Rastafari, monotheistic and Abrahamic provides the most credible route into that argument.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 13, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q101462. The Library of Congress control number is sh85111472. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1930 and 1974.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Rastafari”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Rastafari primary sources, Rastafari archive and Rastafari research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Rastafari”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Rastafari” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.