Former deputy principal of UWI, Professor Christine Barrow, has released some blows upon the bible believing church for its stance on divorce, abortion, and sexual preferences amongst other things as she believes that the church should be open minded.
She thinks the church is backward thinking and an eye should be kept on them as it threatens to take Barbados backwards. The church is referred to by the professor as "a right wing evangelical force,... which drives a narrow reactionary righteousness.
"Barbados has led the way in law reform to recognize the realities of family life in Barbados, recognizing and protecting the rights of women in common-law relationships, eliminating the legal distinction of children born in and out of wedlock, facilitating abortion and divorce," she told those gathered at the university's Roy Marshall Teaching Complex for the discussion.
By making abortions possible and divorces easier, the Barbadian society had recognized the needs of people over conventions forced upon the population.
She maintained that these legal changes represented a radical departure from the post-slavery colonial standards when previous generations felt a proper family was comprised of a father, a mother and children, and anything other than the nuclear family was seen as improper.
Yet, she emphasized, Barbados and the region must guard against allowing fanatical religious advocates to reverse those gains.
Christine Barrow is Professor Emerita at the University of the West Indies (UWI). Prof. Barrow has been a member of the Barbados Family Planning Association (BFPA) since 1995, was President of the Association from 2001-2003. She has served as Head of Department, Deputy Dean, Deputy Principal, and Chair of the HIV&AIDS Response Programme.