Would you concider Hip-Hop a religion?
How about Jazz?
Both of these musical styles developed a culture, or more acuratly, out of a culture. Both have been adopted by those who don't understand the deep love and underlying lifestyle that accompanies the music, but neither will ever truly die.
So it is with reggae, king's music. You can take the message out of the music, but not out of the musicians, the followers and the believers.
Religion is a construct developed around a concept of good and evil. Religion is ritual, something you do that honors or appeases a godlike being who gives and takes away based on the level of dedication to ritual a person observes.
Rastafari, like Hip-Hop or Jazz, is a way of life. Everything one does; hair, clothes, food, drink, language, expression of self in every aspect; is a outward manifestation of a personal belief system. The difference is that culture comes from inside ones self, religion is outside of Self. A person must become worthy of love and forgiveness, must sacrifice, must reject the body and all desires of the flesh to become religiously whole. Rastafari is the exact opposite, one must become immersed in Self, removed from outside influence, in order to be whole.
Religion is dictated by a system or order of governance and authority. Spirit is everything, no person can be closer to Spirit than any other person. One can be more in tune, or in harmony, with Spirit but Spirit is available to anything that wishes to embody it.
As for society girls and musicians,
Who did Jesus the Christ choose as his female companion?
Help not those who can help themselves, help those who are lost and crying out. A candle barely shines in the sunlight, but in a dark room one candle can be salvation, seen.
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