Caribbean
From Missiopedia
- Back to Regions
Contents |
[edit] Caribbean
The small islands dotting the warm waters of Central America are prime destinations for tourists, corporations, and criminals. The hot climate and warm nightlife has lulled many into sleepy structures of sin that are a difficult bondage to break.
Few of the islands have any significant natural resources beyond their beaches, climates, fishing and sugarcane. Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Dominica, Haiti and Puerto Rico are the exceptions, possessing timber, minerals, and some rare metals (gold and silver). The economies in the region produce 51% of Latin America’s GNP, and are a mixed bag: some endure abject poverty, while others are relatively well off. Tourism is the staple industry, but offshore banking is a key industry. The Cayman Islands are a particular example of this, but with it comes a dark side: much of the wealth that moves through these tax-free havens is money being laundered by criminals.
Drugs are traded on some of the islands, and shipped through others, although this is declining due to recent policing. Sexual sins are widespread: many births are illegitimate. The Bahamas and Trinidad & Tobago both have AIDS epidemics.
In perhaps the ultimate irony, the tourist-friendly position of the islands also puts them directly in the path of annual hurricanes and tropical storms. Devastating natural disasters reduce the numbers of tourists and destroy the local economy, forcing impoverished countries to spend hard-earned money to rebuild their infrastructure. Martinique has averaged a disaster every 5 years. Montserrat, sitting on top of a volcano, was nearly reduced to ashes and has only recently begun to rebuild.
Although most of the countries are at peace, the notable exceptions are Haiti and Cuba. Haiti’s long period of political turmoil has led to endless poverty and violence. Cuba’s isolation under Castro has locked the largest potential missionary force in the region away from the rest of the world.
Most of these countries profess Christianity but it is of the most nominal kind. Many are Catholics, although Protestants and Independent churches are also widely found. The church is growing, but none except the church in Cuba are growing faster than the population. It is hard to maintain growth when over 90% of the people already consider themselves Christians.
More revealing is the widespread lack of mission-sending efforts. Mission mobilization is a key need. The wildcard in the region is Cuba after Castro. It is clearly unlikely he will survive to 2025, and perhaps not to 2010. What happens after he is gone is not certain, but further liberalization is possible. Persecution in Cuba is on the decline, and restrictions have been loosened; explosive church growth is the norm and will likely continue. Perhaps one day, Cuba will send missionaries to the countries where Castro once sent troops. What impact could Cubans--and Caribbeans as a whole--have on the unreached world?
[edit] Projections of Christianity to 2025
| Anguilla | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 92% | 0.0 | 89% | + - | + - | Few resources, poverty, tourism, banking, hurricanes, water. |
| Antigua and Barbuda | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 94% | 0.1 | 92% | + - | + - | Water, hurricanes, tourism, some unemployment, drugs. |
| Aruba | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 96% | 0.1 | 92% | + - | + - | Tourism, relatively wealthy, Christian radio. |
| Bahamas | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 92% | 0.4 | 91% | + - | + - | AIDS, tourism, declining drug trade, unemployment, nominalism. |
| Barbados | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 96% | 0.3 | 95% | + - | + - | Tourism, sugar, relative wealth with some unemployment, apathy. |
| British Virgin Islands | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 84% | 0.0 | 83% | + - | + - | Tourism, prosperous economy, materialism, nominalism. |
| Cayman Islands | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 78% | 0.0 | 69% | + - | + - | Offshore financial center, wealthy, tourism, money laundering. |
| Cuba | 11.1 | 11.3 | 5.9 | 53% | 6.4 | 56% | + + | + + | Declining restrictions, Castro transition, poverty, church growth. |
| Dominica | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 95% | 0.1 | 94% | + - | + - | Agriculture, hurricanes, economic restructuring, poverty, nominalism. |
| Dominican Republic | 8.3 | 11.2 | 7.9 | 95% | 10.6 | 95% | + - | + - | Hurricanes, unemployment, political turmoil, poverty, rich/poor gap. |
| Grenada | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 97% | 0.1 | 97% | + - | + - | Tourism, unemployment, poverty, nominalism, church unity. |
| Guadeloupe | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 95% | 0.5 | 93% | + - | + - | Hurricanes, unemployment, poverty, nominalism. |
| Haiti | 7.9 | 10.9 | 7.6 | 96% | 10.2 | 94% | + - | + - | Absolute poverty, violence, political instability, unemployment, AIDS, disease, idolatry, witchcraft, and perversion. |
| Jamaica | 2.6 | 2.8 | 2.2 | 84% | 2.2 | 78% | + - | + - | Tourism, socioeconomic ills, unemployment, poverty, hurricanes. |
| Martinique | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 97% | 0.4 | 95% | + - | + - | Unemployment, poverty, nominalism, average 1 disaster every 5 years. |
| Montserrat | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 96% | 0.0 | 93% | - - | + - | Volcanic activity, half of the island uninhabitable, reconstruction. |
| Netherlands Antilles | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 94% | 0.2 | 91% | + - | + - | Tourism, unemployment, apathy, Christian radio. |
| Puerto Rico | 3.8 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 97% | 4.1 | 96% | + - | + - | Growing economy, politics, unemployment, addictions. |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 95% | 0.0 | 95% | - - | + + | Tourism, drugs, no known missionaries from the islands. |
| Saint Lucia | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 96% | 0.2 | 96% | + - | + - | Growing economy, unemployment, nominalism. |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 89% | 0.1 | 84% | + - | + - | Tourism, tropical storms, marijuana, drug transshipment point. |
| Trinidad & Tobago | 1.3 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 63% | 0.8 | 59% | + - | + - | AIDS, poverty, violence, corruption, tourism, offshore banking. |
| Turks & Caicos Islands | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 93% | 0.0 | 90% | + - | + - | Tourism, unemployment, immigration, offshore banking. |
| Virgin Islands of the United States | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 95% | 0.1 | 91% | + - | - - | Tourism, hurricanes, oil refining, materialism, crime. |
[edit] Key to the above charts:
P’00 - Population, AD 2000 P’25 - Population, AD2025 C’00 - Christianity, AD 2000 (followed by the percentage of the overall population) C’25 - Christianity, AD2025 projection, World Christian Database (followed by percentage of overall population) 75-00 - Growth rate. The first (+/-) indicates whether Christianity is growing or declining; the second (+/-) indicates whether it is growing faster or slower than the population (thus whether Christianity’s influence is growing or declining). (+-) means Christianity is growing, but not as fast as the population, and so is declining as a share of the country. 00-25 - Growth rate projected for AD2000-2025 Issues - A brief encapsulation of the issues affecting the growth of Christianity in the nation
