Rastafari developed among Jamaicans of African descent who felt they were oppressed and that society was apathetic to their problems. Rastas may regard themselves as conforming to certain visions of how Africans should live, reclaiming what they see as a culture stolen from them when their ancestors were brought on slave ships to Jamaica, the movement's birthplace. The messages expounded by the Rastafari promote love and respect for all living things and emphasize the paramount importance of human dignity and self-respect. Above all else, they speak of freedom from spiritual, psychological as well as physical slavery and oppression. In their attempts to heal the wounds inflicted upon the African peoples by the colonialism, Rastafari extol the virtue and superiority of African cultures past and present.
Rastafari stress loyalty to their vision of Zion, and rejection of modern society, calling it Babylon, which they see as corrupt. "Babylon" in this case is considered to have been in rebellion against "Earth's Rightful Ruler" (JAH) ever since the days of the biblical king Nimrod. The movement is difficult to categorize, because Rastafari is not a centralized organization. Individual Rastafari work out their religion for themselves, resulting in a wide variety of doctrines.
Fraternally, Philip Carter / Facebook / Great is Truth and mighty above all things (I Esdras 4:41)