Varieties of African American religious experience

by Anthony B. Pinn

Anthony Pinn's engrossing survey highlights the rich diversity of black religious life in America, revealing expressions of an ever-changing black religious quest in four non-Christian religious movements. Based on extensive research, travel, and interviews - and embellished with photos, bibliographies, and case studies - Pinn's work provides a fascinating look especially at Voodoo, Santeria, the Nation of Islam, and Black Humanism in the United States. Focusing less on institutional and doctrinal history and more on the varied popular religious practices and sites, his volume highlights, for example, the influence of Caribbean religions in the United States, practices of divination and healing, the surge of black Muslim religion, the emergence of black humanism, and the religious influence and ethical practices of black women.