Therapeutic dimensions of sacred garments worn by the Barbados Spiritual Baptists

Abstract

As part of a broader observational study, 25 members of a Barbados Spiritual Baptist congregation and its Patriarch, along with 13 nonmembers of the church, took part in formal semi-structured interviews, in addition to informal conversations with many others. The purpose was to elicit detailed qualitative impressions of their experiences related to the evolving use of sacred garments within the rituals of the church. Over the 55 years of its development, the church experienced three phases marked by the gathering of spiritual and material strength of the members and their Leader. Members reported experiences of enhanced subjective well-being arising from their wearing of specific religious vestments they received as intended for them by the Holy Spirit with the Leader as mediator. The findings are in keeping with a body of scholarly literature and may guide further quantitative research about the place of sacred garments in the beliefs and practices of this Caribbean faith group.

Keywords:

• religion
• sacred garments
• Spiritual Baptists
• psychological health

Acknowledgements

We appreciate the permission of the University of the West Indies Press to reprint the photographs used in this article. The photographs were taken from Ye Shall Dream (Griffith, 2010).