Haitian Protestants Overlooked Group in the Bahamas

According to Louis's analysis the Haitian Protestants in the Bahamas make a connection between being good Christians with being good Haitian citizens. He also points out Haitian migrants arriving in the Bahamas are usually Protestants beforehand, and it could be assumed can easily assimilate.

Louis, who spoke with 53 Haitian Protestants at length in the Bahamas and collected information on them as a group from 2005â€'2012 discovered they dress in a particular way, some would say of a bygone era, and display more formal behaviors to demonstrate how an orthodox Christian should conduct themselves.

In the Bahamas Protestantism is one of its dominant religions and Louis cites ". . . an increase in the number of Protestant churches with Haitian pastors from 20 in 2005 to 42 in 2012." This steep rise is due to the Bahamian government's racist attitude toward Haitians. In fact the country's newly-enforced immigration law demands legal immigrants to have their passports on them "at all times."

Louis also focuses on the invisibility of Protestants in Haiti. He says Haiti's Protestant population could be as great as 45%. In the Bahamas Protestantism is the dominant religion for Haitians, in which they compose 16%. Louis feels it is about time they be acknowledged.

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