The Spiritual Baptist faith in Trinidad and Tobago may soon see a formal name change, as Prime Minister, Stuart Young questions the continued use of the term “Shouter Baptist.”
During the Spiritual Baptist celebrations at the Diplomatic Centre on Saturday, Prime Minister Young said the government is proposing a name change for the Spiritual Baptist faith, removing what he described as a colonial-era term. The Prime Minister told members of the faith, that the decision ultimately rests with them.
“And as I spoke to my cabinet colleagues this week, I proposed to them and then of course our guidance when it comes to the Spiritual Baptist faith. We are fortunate to have Minister Cummings amongst us and I said, colleagues, why do we still have the terminology Shouter Baptist? Because you see, to me, Shouter Baptist was a colonial term as was done by the colonialists. Cast upon us and cast upon those, that is you and your flock, many decades ago worshipping your God, our God, in the way that you chose to.”
The Prime Minister stressed that his government upholds freedom of worship for all religious groups, emphasizing that any decision on a name change should come from the Spiritual Baptist community itself.
“So I said, let us ask our brothers and sisters in the Spiritual Baptist faith, whether it is something as you meet amongst yourselves, because it is your decision, it is your decision to take, whether it is not something that we in 2025 should break that shackle of colonialism off of you and you all should be known formally and legally as the Spiritual Baptist faith. But that is not a decision for us, that is your decision.”