Trinidad and Tobago is a multi-religious nation. The largest religious groups are the Roman Catholics and Hindus; the Anglicans, Muslims, Presbyterians, Methodist are among the smaller faiths. Two Afro-Caribbean syncretic faiths, the Shouter or Spiritual Baptists and the Orisha faith (formerly called Shangos, a less than complimentary term) are among the fastest growing religious groups. The fastest growing groups are a host of American-style evangelical and fundamentalist churches usually lumped as "Pentecostal" by most Trinidadians (although this designation is often inaccurate). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has also expanded its presence in the country since the mid-1980s.
Census data from 1990 states that 29.4% of the population was Roman Catholic, 23.8% Hindu, 10.9% Anglican, 5.8% Muslim, 3.4% Presbyterianism and 26.7% other.
According to Census (2000), 26% of the population was Roman Catholic, 24.6% Protestant (including 7.8% Anglican, 6.8% Pentecostal, 4% Seventh-day Adventist, 3.3% Presbyterian or Congregational, 1.8% Baptist, and 0.9% Methodist), 22.5% Hindu, and 5.8% Muslim. A small number of individuals subscribed to traditional Caribbean religions with African roots, such as the Spiritual Baptists (sometimes called Shouter Baptists), 5.4 percent; and the Orisha, 0.1 percent. The smaller groups were Jehovah's Witnesses (1.6 percent), atheists (1.9 percent), or those listed as "other," which included numerous small Christian groups as well as Baha’is, Rastafarians, Buddhists, and Jews (10.7 percent), or undeclared (1.4 percent).
Comparing the two sets of data, and examining previous sets of data, shows that Roman Catholicism, Hinduism and other traditional religions are declining, with the main conversions being to the Born-again and other Protestant churches. It must also be considered that the newest data is six years old, and changes will have undoubtedly occurred. The Sunday Guardian's headline on Easter Sunday 2008 was "Catholic Church in Crisis", and it focused on the dramatic decline in numbers of practising Catholics and priests-in-training.
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Coat of arms of the Anglican diocese of Trinidad
Afro-Caribbean syncretic groups
- See also: Hinduism in the West Indies
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The Government of Trinidad and Tobago provides substantial subventions to religious groups. In 2003 [1] the government provided TT$ 420,750 to religious groups.
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