Varieties of African American Religious Experience

Anthony Pinn's engrossing survey highlights the rich diversity of black religious life in America, revealing manifestations of an ever-changing black religious quest in four non-Christian indigenous movements. Based on extensive interviews, travel, and research -- embellished with ample photos, bibliographies, and case studies -- Pinn provides an insider look especially at Voodoo, Orisha devotion, Santeria, the Nation ofIslam, and Black Humanism in the U.S. Focusing less on institutional and doctrinal history and more onthe varied popular religious practices and sites, his volume highlights, for example, the influence ofCaribbean religions in the U.S., practices of divination and healing, the surge of black Muslim religion, theemergence of black humanism, religious influences on the ethical practices of black women, and the importof previously overlooked religious settings (e.g., church women's clubs, local politics, Pentecostal religion, private religious practices). The emergent picture, more subtle, varied, and vibrant than traditional black Christian denominational history, marks a new era in African American religious studies.