tt.humanist :: forum :: commentary :: secularism

A "surrealistic" portrait of Trinidad and Tobago?

13 August 2008 • 296 words

Professor Selwyn Ryan, in his column of August 10 ("A portrait of Trinidad and Tobago") reaches a conclusion contradicted by the very data he presents.

Citing a 2006 survey conducted by MORI Caribbean, Ryan lists the findings on religion and concludes that "a substantial majority of the Trinidad and Tobago population believe that notwithstanding the fact that Trinidad is a secular state, religion cannot be separated from politics."

Yet the statistics listed by Ryan say that 70 percent of Trinidadians do not think religious leaders should try and influence how people vote, while just over half think they shouldn’t try to influence government decisions. Whether this is because of Trini tolerance, or because the respondents don’t want any but their own religion influencing the government, we do not see how these findings lead to Ryan to conclude that citizens don’t want separation of religion and State.

Ryan concludes his column with another misleading statement: "Also important is the finding that, contrary to what is assumed by some ‘humanists’, two thirds of the population believe that Trinidad and Tobago would be better, and not worse off, if persons of strong religious beliefs were elected to office." We don’t know who these humanists are, or why Ryan thinks they need quotation marks, but our Association is not concerned with people’s private beliefs or lack thereof. Our argument continues to be that a plural society is better off when religious groups are given the same weight as other groups, and not a privileged position as is now the case. In this context, it might have been useful if Professor Ryan had mentioned that, according to the World Values Survey to which MORI contributes, the most religious countries are also the least well-governed.