Even the forming of schools, (which is a good thing) was not totally altruistic. It is a trade off – Education is provided and the bodies that pass through the school presents the church with a pool of possible converts. It’s a way of perpetuating religious fundamentals through young impressionable minds. Hardly the stuff selflessness or patriotism is made of.

A good question to ask is , are those people who come in contact with the church more likely or less likely to commit crime or be involved in corruption? Given the saturation of the country with churches and the nation’s crime rate and corruption index the former seems obvious.

As an advocate for social upliftment, human rights et al, the church for the most part has been missing in action. In fact the church has been at the forefront lobbying for the denial of human rights for certain sections of the Jamaican populace. So while there is obviously an intertwining of Jamaica’s history with the church, the benefits of it seems dubious.