Shouter / Spiritual Baptist Liberation Day

The Legal Aid and Advisory Authority joins with members of the Spiritual Baptist Faith and members of the wider national community in celebrating Spiritual Baptist Liberation Day on March 30th, 2019.

For over three decades, the Shouters Prohibition Ordinance of 1917 criminalized the religious practices of the Spiritual Baptists, Clause 3 of the Shouters Prohibition Ordinance stated that “It shall be an offence against this Ordinance for any person to hold or to take part in or to attend any Shouters Meeting… in any part of the colony indoors or in the open air at any time of the day or night”

Draconian powers were vested in the hands of the Police in Trinidad and Tobago “… without a warrant to enter at any time of the day or night any house, any house, estate land or place…and to take the names and addresses of all persons present at such Shouters’ meetings or Shouters’ house” (Clause 7, Par 1)

For more information click on the link below:

Sources:

Shouters Prohibition Ordinance – https://ecollections.law.fiu.edu/trinidad_tobago/6/
The Shouters Prohibition (Repeal) Ordinance – laws.gov.tt/ttdll-web/revision/download/63215?type=amendment

This draconian law was repealed in 1951 and in 1996 the Government granted an annual public holiday in recognition of the Spiritual Baptist Movement.

The LAAA is committed to working to secure the rights of all in Trinidad and Tobago to equal representation under the law regardless of ethnicity, religion, non-religion, age, sexual orientation, geographic location or gender. We invite all to come in to one of our offices for legal advice.