Synopses & Reviews
African religions, as well as those religions that derive much of their cosmology, beliefs, and rituals from African religions, are becoming more international in scope and appeal. Yet they continue to be viewed either as indiscriminately adaptable or as static traditions. Neither view suggests much spiritual or psychological value outside their original milieu when compared with the so-called world religions.
The chapters in this volume focus on African and African-derived religions, and challenge many of these positions. They examine how these religions display themselves in the contemporary world, particularly in the Americas, the Caribbean, and Europe. These religions' continued dynamism and their relationship with other religious traditions, especially through the process of syncretism, are also explored. This multidisciplinary collection makes a major contribution not only to a better understanding of African and African-derived religions, but it also contributes to the wider and ongoing debate on syncretism that continues to engage those in anthropology, history, and sociology of religion.
Review
[T]his is an excellent resource for comparing the varied forms of African Dispora religiosity.Religious Studies Review
Synopsis
Chapters examine how African religions display themselves in the contemporary world and look at their continued dynamism and relationship with other religious traditions.
Synopsis
African religions, as well as those religions that derive much of their cosmology, beliefs, and rituals from African religions, are becoming more international in scope and appeal. Yet they continue to be viewed either as indiscriminately adaptable or as static traditions. Neither view suggests much spiritual or psychological value outside their original milieu when compared with the so-called world religions. The chapters in this volume focus on African and African-derived religions, and challenge many of these positions. They examine how these religions display themselves in the contemporary world, particularly in the Americas, the Caribbean, and Europe. These religions' continued dynamism and their relationship with other religious traditions, especially through the process of syncretism, are also explored. This multidisciplinary collection makes a major contribution not only to a better understanding of African and African-derived religions, but it also contributes to the wider and ongoing debate on syncretism that continues to engage those in anthropology, history, and sociology of religion.
About the Author
PETER B. CLARKE is Professor of History and Sociology of Religion at King's College at the University of London.
Table of Contents
Introduction by Peter B. Clarke
Recasting Syncretism...Again: Theories and Concepts in Anthropology and Afro-American Studies in the Light of Changing Social Agendas by Sidney M. Greenfield
Accounting for Recent Anti-Syncretist Trends in Candomble-Catholic Relations by Peter B. Clarke
Non-African Spiritual Entities in Afro-Brazilian Religion and Afro-Amerindian Syncretism by
Mundicarmo R. Ferretti
The Churchifying of Candomble: Priests, Anthropologists and the Canonization of the African Religious Memory in Brazil by Roberto Motta
With Dance and Drum: A Psycho-Cultural Investigation of the Meaning-Making System of an African-Brazilian, Macumba Community in Salvador, Brazil by Valerie de Marinis
Umbanda and Its Clientele by Tina Gundrun Jensen
The Shakers of St. Vincent: A Symbolic Focus for Discourses by Charles J. Gullick
Contested Rituals of the African Diaspora by Stephen D. Glazier
From Mimesis to Appropriation in Shouter Baptism and Shango: The Earth People of Trinidad by Roland Littlewood
Religion, Patriarchy, and the Status of Rastafarian Women by Obiagele Lake
Rastafari Perceptions of Self and Symbolism by William R. Van de Berg
The Nation of Islam by Michael Taylor
Santeria and Curanderismo in Los Angeles by Brian McGuire and Duncan Scrymgeour
Some Thoughts on Syncretism in Suriname Creole Migrant Culture, as Reproduced by Migrant Women in the Netherlands by Inelle Van Wetering
The African Diaspora in the Netherlands by Gerrie Ter Haar
From Africa into Italy: The Exorcistic-Therapeutic Cult of Emmanuel Milingo by Vittorio Lanternari
Pseudo-Conversion and African Independent Churches by Victor Wan-Tatah
Select Bibliography
Index