GRENADA: THE NEW JEWEL MOVEMENT AND RELIGION*

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP86M00886R001500020008-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 31, 2008
• Sequence Number: 8
• Publication Date: February 2, 1984
• Content Type: MEMO

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United States Department of State
TTrashin,gton, D.C. 205
Executive Registry
84- 1013
FEB 17 IM
MEMORANDUM
TO: Distribution List
FROM: S/LPD - Johnathan S. Miller, Actingcj.tT\
Attached for your information is an interesting paper on
the anti-religious activities of the New Jewel Movement in
Grenada.
The document is unclassified, so please feel free to give a
copy to anyone who may request it.
Attachments:
1. Distribution List
2. New Jewel Movement Paper
Drafted: S/LPD:JCothran:gw
2/16/84, 632-6751
(0002G)
CICP
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Distribution:
1-;H - James A. Baker III
UH - Michael K. Deaver
t?;H - Larry M. Speakes
WH/OPL - Faith Ryan Whittlesey
WH/OPL - Robert Riley
1-.H/VP - Philip Hughes
NSC - Robert McFarlane
I:SC - Walter Raynond, Jr.
NSC - Constantine Menges
NSC - Ollie North
DOD/USD(P) - Fred C. Ikle
DOD/ISA - Nestor D. Sanchez
DOD/OSD/DUSD(P) - Kay Stephenson
USIA/D - Charles Z. Wick
USIA/D - Leslie Lenkowsky
USIA/P - William P. Bach
USIA/P/GP - Don Mathes
AID/A - Peter McPherson
AID/AA/LAC - Victor M. Rivera
\ AID/DA - Jay F. Morris
NJCIA - William Casey
CIA - Duane R. Clarridge
CIA - John Horton
S/S - Charles Hill
S/S - Brunson McKinley
S/S-S - Edward W. Gnehm
D - Kenneth W. Dam
P - Lawrence S. Eagleburger
IO/UNA - Jeane J. Kirkpatrick
IO/UNA - Jackie Tillman
UN - Jose Sorzano
USOAS - J. William Middendorf, II
S/SE - Richard Stone
T - William Schneider, Jr.
C - Edward J. Derwinski
H - Tapley Bennett
H - Jayne H. Plank
EB - Richard McCormack
EUR - Richard Burt
EUR - John Kelly
ARA - Tony Motley
ARA - Craig Johnstone
ARA/PPC - Luigi Einaudi
ARA/PPC - Mike Skol
ARA/P - Jeff Biggs
ARA/CEN - Joseph Becelia
S/P - Stephen W. Bosworth
PM - Jonathan T. Howe
HA - Elliott Abrams
INR - Hugh Montgomery
INR - William Knepper
L/ARA - K. Scott Gudgeon
PA - John McCarthy
PA - Irwin Pernick
2/16/84 (0004L)
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GRENADA: THE NEW JEWEL MOVEMENT AND RELIGION*
Summary
Concern over the influence of organized religion on the
Grenadian people had reached a point in 1983 where Prime Minister
Maurice Bishop considered the formation of a 'progressive" church
and planned to discuss this idea with the Cubans and Nicaraguans.
Documents captured in Grenada show that church activities were
kept under constant surveillance by security officials and that
plans were afoot to introduce Marxist-Leninist instruction into
primary and secondary schools as a means of alienating youth from-
the influence of religion.
Introduction
The governing New Jewel Movement (NJM) was compelled by its
Marxist-Leninist ideology to regard religion as an enemy and to
seek to undermine it. The various churches, at first neutral
after the March 1979 revolution, moved into opposition as the
undemocratic nature of the NJM became apparent in 1980.
Despite a shortage of trained security personnel, an officer
attached to the Ministry of the Interior, Michael Roberts, was
assigned full time to reporting on church activities. His report
of March 15, 1983, and that of his superior, Maj. Keith Roberts,
of July 12, 1983, concluded that churches were the main political
source of internal counter revolution.'
* This paper was prepared in conjunction with a contract study
undertaken by William L. Krieg as part of the Department of
State's external research program. The study calls for a prelim-
inary evaluation of captured Grenadian documents for the light
they may throw on important political themes in the country's
domestic and foreign affairs. It is possible that further
research into the documents will alter some of the findings of
this paper, which in any case are those of the author and do not
necessarily reflect the views of the US Government. Comments on
this paper and inquiries about the program may be addressed to
the Director of the Office of Long-Range Assessments and
Research, US Department of State, Washington, D.C. 20520.
February 2, 1984
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Security Findings on the Catholic Church
The Roman Catholic Church, by far the largest on the island,
numbered some 70,000 baptized members, according to Keith Roberts.
This would represent well over half of the population. Maurice
Bishop himself was a Catholic. The security officers considered
Roman Catholic Bishop Sydney Charles, head of the church in
Grenada, to be one of their most formidable opponents, however,
and described him as 'very popular among church goers.'
The Catholic Church first expressed opposition to government
policies in 1980-81 by voicing concern for the human rights of polit-
ical detainees at the Richmond Hill Prison. Keith Roberts stated
that 'every Sunday at one church or another priests were heard to ask
people to `pray for the detainees' whose rights have been denied.'
The Catholics, he said, organized retreats, seminars, and conferences
at which 'hostile statements were hurled against the Grenadian Revo-
lution on so-called violation of human rights.' Other traditional
churches took the same line and also pushed for elections.
Of particular concern to the security staff were the efforts of
Bishop Charles to invigorate the youth organizations affiliated with
the church and to bring them under his personal control. He also
had copies of the Jerusalem Bible imported and placed on sale. This
bible, according to Keith Roberts, was written in simple language
"so as to make it easier for the church masses to read. This indi-
cates the Church's understanding of the ideological struggle.' A
booklet entitled Marxism, Humanism and Christianity was circulated
to ali priests to study; it purportedly contained answers to 'scien-
tific socialism" and, wrote Michael Roberts, "in general distorts
the teaching of Marx and Lenin.' At a meeting on January 2, 1983,
Bishop Charles said the church was facing its greatest challenge in
1983: "...there are people who want to dictate to the Churches what
to do and 1983 will even see attempts to CRUSH the Church.' Michael
Roberts concluded it was abundantly clear that the Catholic Church
was gearing up for confrontation with the government.
The security officers considered that all the churches in
Grenada were in varying degrees hostile to the revolution and that
the revolutionary government had no support among the religious
leaders. This was not true of the mass of church goers who,
Roberts thought, often were better disposed toward the revolution.
The Anglican Church
The second largest religious group was the Anglican Church,
described as being composed of the elite of Grenadian society while
the Roman Catholic Church drew its members 'from the poor and
oppressed classes.' The Anglicans were severely handicapped by lack
of ordained clergy; most services were conducted by lay people. The
leader of the Anglicans was Archdeacon Hoskins 'Huggins, who on
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December 24, 1982, urged his parishioners to gu=_:d the right of
freedom of worship and to do all in their power to ensure this
right be always part of the People." This, Mich=e1 Roberts
thought, was only a variation of the "challenge' line enunciated
by the Roman Catholic Bishop.
The Archdeacon, Roberts continued, was 'bacied by a host of
reactionary elements who dominate all the Church's organizations.'
The Anglicans were also reorganizing their youth groups and, for
the first time, the Anglicans and Catholics had a joint Corpus
Christi procession--an indication of unity which clearly disturbed
the security officers. Archdeacon Huggins' Christmas Eve state-
ment was commented upon in a meeting of the NJM Central Committee--
the controlling political body in Grenada--and it was decided that
someone should "speak to' the Archdeacon. Un_or-unately, there is
no available record of whether this decision was acted upon.
Government Recommendations
The security staff reported that the smaller denominations
were also "reactionary" and lamented that there as no 'left"
religion in Grenada. In view of what he conside:ed a growing
threat to the revolution, Keith Roberts made a nznber of recom-
mendations, including these:
--Intensify surveillance of churches and requ_:e all public
associations, both religious and secular, tc register the
basic facts of their organization, financing, etc.
--Continue to develop cooperation in this area with Cuban
comrades at the party-to-party level.
--Improve NJM mass organizations.
--Remove from primary schools all deeply relic'_ous head
teachers and replace them with "progressive' teachers.
--Provide political education for all teach-erz by September
1983. (A decision on this subject already !=d been taken by
the Organizing Committee on May 9, 1983. I: had determined
that political education should start at the beginning of the
school year; that the Teachers Committee shc:ld identify
progressive teachers to be trained in this v,:rk; and that
reactionary teachers were to be removed frog the schools.)
--Get Marxist-Leninist literature into all scb:ols by September
1983.
--Open Marxist-Leninist book shops in differe:: parishes of the
country.
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To the recommendations submitted by Keith Roberts, Maurice
Bishop added in his own handwriting:
Open cinemas
"- Start progressive church (Talk with Nicaraguans & Cubans).'
Political Expediency
The NJM when possible cloaked its propagandistic activities in
churchly raiment. One report describes a 'cultural seminar' held at
Pope Paul's Centre in July, probably 1982 or earlier. The resource
personnel were provided by the NJM and included Chris. de Riggs, a
member of the Central Committee, and Bernard Bourne, who later
served as Minister-Counselor at the Grenadian Embassy in Moscow.
The tenor of the proceedings is apparent from the topics discussed:
'An analysis of our present political situation,' by Comrade
Bernard Bourne;
"Role of Youth in Revolutionary Free Grenada,' by Comrade
Ruggles Ferguson; and
'Role of Culture in a Revolutionary Society-,' by Comrade
Chris de Riggs.
According to the press, when Pope Paul's Centre was searched by
the US military after the invasion, the persons in charge claimed
that it was used only for religious retreats and. similar purposes.
That the NJM was not completely united in its attitude toward
religion is evident in the comments of party members in the Grena-
dian Embassy in Cuba who met in December 1982 to formulate comments
cn the 'Line of March'--a paper circulated by the Central Committee
outlining the policies to be pursued by the party during the year
ahead. The party members noted the absence of any guidance on
religion in the document and suggested the inclusion of a statement
establishing freedom of religious practices--so long as they were
not inhuman or used to destabilize the revolution--and advocating
equality between believers and nonbelievers.
It is difficult to say whether this liberal, statement accurately
represented the sentiments of the group or whether it was a recogni-
tion of political expediency, considering the strong religious
attachments of most Grenadians. The Ambassador to Cuba? who presided
over the meeting, was Maj. Leon (Bogo) Cornwall, apparently a hard-
liner. Cornwall played an active role in the s~.~ort-lived Revolution-
ary Military Government which followed the assassination of Bishop.
In either case, however, it shows an awareness of the strength of
organized religion in Grenada and the difficulties of reconciling
this situation with the principles of a Marxist-Leninist party.
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