Religion - The Anglican Church
Brought by the first settlers over 300 years ago, the Anglican Church, originally referred to as the Church of England, was the first official religion in Barbados. Due to the influx of other religions and christian denominations, it now accounts for only 33% of the church going population in the island. This is a drastic 90% decrease since the 1870s.
While today the Anglican church is made up of mixed race, it was not like that during the times of slavery. Plantation owners believed that the influence of the church would undermine their authority and therefore forbade the slaves. This changed in 1838 with the abolition of slavery.
Across the island, there are over fifty Anglican churches. This is partially in thanks to the first Bishop, Rev Dr William Hart Coleridge. He was appointed in 1824 and made great efforts in growing the church. Between 1825 and 1842, he had built ten chapels in rural areas and eleven chapel schools.
