an originally Jamaican religion that regards Ras Tafari (the former emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie (1892–1975)) as God
Rastafarianism in American English
(ˌræstəˈfɛəriəˌnɪzəm, -ˈfɑːr-, ˌrɑːstə-)
noun
a religious cult, originally of Jamaica, that regards Africa as the Promised Land, to which all true believers will someday return, and the late Haile Selassie I, former emperor of Ethiopia, as the messiah
Word origin
[rastafarian + -ism]-ism is a suffix appearing in loanwords from Greek, where it was used to form action nounsfrom verbs (baptism). On this model, -ism is used as a productive suffix in the formation of nouns denoting action or practice,state or condition, principles, doctrines, a usage or characteristic, devotion oradherence, etc. (criticism; barbarism; Darwinism; despotism; plagiarism; realism; witticism; intellectualism)