Rastafarianism is a religion, lifestyle, and, in part, a social movement. The catalyst for the movement came during the late 1920s to 1930s in Jamaica after Black Nationalist and Separatist Marcus Garvey introduced the idea that Black Jamaicans who were brought to the island from Africa as enslaved people centuries prior should “overcome their feelings of inferiority and build upon their own unique and evolving culture, and ultimately return to Africa to redeem their homeland and to build a future,” according to the website, Black History Month.

That message hit home for many Jamaicans, and Rastafari took hold of the island nation as a blend of Judeo-Christian beliefs, heavy on the Old Testament teachings and the Book of Revelation, according to Religion Facts. And, of course, all of that is combined with a new spin on what those stories meant to the Black community, who embrace Jah or God, whom they recognize as Jesus (significantly, he is Black), and a second messiah named Emperor Haile Selassie.

Selassie was the last monarch of Ethiopia’s Solomonic Dynasty and, according to National Geographic, that dynasty is said to have descended from biblical figures King Solomon of Israel and the Queen of Sheba. Rastafarians look upon Selassie as a living god, and Ethiopia as their Zion, or a utopian place. Selassie died in 1975 according to Biography, but Religion Facts says many Rastas believe his death was a hoax.

Rasta's focus on life on Earth instead of an afterlife

Carl Court/Getty Images