Black Studies: Religion

African American Religious History: a Documentary Witness by Milton C. Sernett (Abridged by) This widely heralded collection of remarkable documents offers a view of African American religious history from Africa and early America through Reconstruction to the rise of black nationalism, civil rights, and black theology of today.

The African Diaspora and the Study of Religion by Theodore Louis Trost (Editor) Africa in diaspora -- Diaspora in literature and culture -- Diaspora in Latin America and the Caribbean -- Diaspora in theory.

The Oxford Handbook of African American Theology by Anthony B. Pinn (Editor); Katie Geneva Cannon (Editor) Using an interdisciplinary approach, this Oxford Handbook examines the nature, structures, and functions of African American Theology. The volume surveys the field by highlighting its sources, doctrines, internal debates, current challenges, and future prospects in order to present key topics related to the wider palette of Black Religion in a sustained scholarly format

American Voudou: Journey Into a Hidden World by Rod Davis Studies of this potent West African theology have focused almost exclusively on Haiti, Cuba and the Caribbean basin. American Voudou turns our gaze back to American shores, principally towards the South, the most important and enduring stronghold of the voudou faith in America and site of its historic yet rarely recounted war with Christianity. This chronicle of Davis'determined search for the true legacy of voudou in America reveals a spirit-world from New Orleans to Miami which will shatter long-held stereotypes about the religion and its role in our culture.

Black Magic: Religion and the African American Conjuring Tradition by Yvonne P. Chireau Black Magic looks at the origins, meaning, and uses of Conjure—the African American tradition of healing and harming that evolved from African, European, and American elements—from the slavery period to well into the twentieth century. Illuminating a world that is dimly understood by both scholars and the general public, Yvonne P. Chireau describes Conjure and other related traditions, such as Hoodoo and Rootworking, in a beautifully written, richly detailed history that presents the voices and experiences of African Americans and shows how magic has informed their culture.

African American Folk Healing by Stephanie Y. Mitchem Cure a nosebleed by holding a silver quarter on the back of the neck. Treat an earache with sweet oil drops. Wear plant roots to keep from catching colds. Within many African American families, these kinds of practices continue today, woven into the fabric of black culture, often communicated through women. Such folk practices shape the concepts about healing that are diffused throughout African American communities and are expressed in myriad ways, from faith healing to making a mojo.

Mojo Workin': The Old African American Hoodoo System by Katrina Hazzard-Donald Explores African Americans' experience and practice of the herbal, healing folk belief tradition known as Hoodoo. Working against conventional scholarship, Hazzard-Donald argues that Hoodoo emerged first in three distinct regions she calls 'regional Hoodoo clusters' and that after the turn of the nineteenth century, Hoodoo took on a national rather than regional profile.

The Spirits and the Law: Vodou and Power in Haiti by Kate Ramsey Vodou has often served as a scapegoat for Haiti's problems, from political upheavals to natural disasters. This tradition of scapegoating stretches back to the nation's founding and forms part of a contest over the legitimacy of the religion, both beyond and within Haiti's borders. The Spirits and the Law examines that vexed history, asking why, from 1835 to 1987, Haiti banned many popular ritual practices.

Invisible Powers: Vodou in Haitian Life and Culture by Claudine Michel (Editor); Patrick Bellegarde-Smith (Editor) Tackling a wide range of Vodou practices and images, the essays within work to introduce readers to the history and practice of this religion, and to correct the fiction of Vodou which has been circulating as fact. The book focuses specifically on the role Vodou plays in Haiti, the country in which it has its strongest following, examining the influence it has on spiritual beliefs, cultural practices, national identity, popular culture, writing and art.

Literary Expressions of African Spirituality by Roberto Strongman Diasporic in scope, Literary Expressions of African Spirituality offers new readings of black literatures through the prism of spiritual memory that survived the damaging impact of trans-Atlantic slaving. This memory is a significant thread that has often been missed in the reading and teaching of the literatures of the African diaspora. Essays in this collection explore unique black angles of seeing and ways of knowing that characterize African spiritual presence and influence in trans-Atlantic black artistic productions.

Staging Faith: Religion and African American Theater From the Harlem Renaissance to World War II by Craig R. Prentiss In Staging Faith, Craig R. Prentiss illuminates the creative strategies playwrights used to grapple with religion. With a lively and engaging style, the volume brings long forgotten plays to life as it chronicles the cultural and religious fissures that marked early twentieth century African American society.

In the Life and in the Spirit: Homoerotic Spirituality in African American Literature by Marlon Rachquel Moore Examines a range of fiction that challenges widespread assumptions about what it means to be a black person of faith.

Black Song: the Forge and the Flame: the Story of How the Afro-American Spiritual was Hammered Out by John Lovell The story of the roots of the Afro-American spiritual and its influence on blues, country, jazz, rock and classical music.

Political Melodies in the Pews? The Voice of the Black Christian Rapper in the Twenty-first-Century Church by David L. Moody In this fascinating study of contemporary Christian worshippers, David L. Moody analyzes Christian rap music against traditional Christian theology. For many, mixing the sanctified worship of God with music originating from unconsecrated avenues has become difficult to accept. From the back alleys and streets of “the hood” to the club scene of urban America, Christian rappers walk to a different beat than the preacher at the pulpit.

The Labor of Faith: Gender and Power in Black Apostolic Pentecostalism by Judith Casselberry In The Labor of Faith Judith Casselberry examines the material and spiritual labor of the women of the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith, Inc., which is based in Harlem and one of the oldest and largest historically Black Pentecostal denominations in the United States.

Politics in the Pews: The Political Mobilization of Black Churches by Eric L. McDaniel A study of Black congregations in the U.S., a church's activism results from complex negotiations between the pastor and the congregation. The church's traditions, its institutional organization, and its cultural traditions influence the choice to make politics part of the church's mission.

The New Orleans Sisters of the Holy Family: African American missionaries to the Garifuna of Belize by Edward T. Brett Foundation and growth in New Orleans -- Mother Austin Jones and the early mission -- Trouble with the bishop -- The 1920s to the Second Vatican Council -- Changes in the 1950s through the early 1970s -- Problems over language and inculturation -- Mission experiences of three Holy Family sisters -- Withdrawal from Belize.

The Rise to Respectability: Race, Religion, and the Church of God in Christ by Calvin White The Rise to Respectability documents the history of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) and examines its cultural and religious impact on African Americans and on the history of the South. It explores the ways in which Charles Harrison Mason, the son of slaves and founder of COGIC, embraced a Pentecostal faith that celebrated the charismatic forms of religious expression that many blacks had come to view as outdated, unsophisticated, and embarrassing.

Blacks and Whites in Christian America: How Racial Discrimination Shapes Religious Convictions by Michael O. Emerson; Jason E. Shelton Conventional wisdom holds that Christians, as members of a “universal” religion, all believe more or less the same things when it comes to their faith. Yet black and white Christians differ in significant ways, from their frequency of praying or attending services to whether they regularly read the Bible or believe in Heaven or Hell. In this engaging and accessible sociological study of white and black Christian beliefs, Jason E. Shelton and Michael O. Emerson push beyond establishing that there are racial differences in belief and practice among members of American Protestantism to explore why those differences exist.

Uplifting the People: Three Centuries of Black Baptists in Alabama by Wilson Fallin; Wilson Fallin Uplifting the People is a history of the Alabama Missionary Baptist State Convention—its origins, churches, associations, conventions, and leaders. Fallin demonstrates that a distinctive Afro-Baptist faith emerged as slaves in Alabama combined the African religious emphasis on spirit possession, soul-travel, and rebirth with the evangelical faith of Baptists.

Songs of Zion: The African Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States and South Africa by James T. Campbell his is a study of the transplantation of a creed devised by and for African Americans--the African Methodist Episcopal Church--that was appropriated and transformed in a variety of South African contexts. Focusing on a transatlantic institution like the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the book studies the complex human and intellectual traffic that has bound African American and South African experience.

Afro-Pentecostalism: Black Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity in History and Culture by Amos Yong (Editor); Estrelda Y. Alexander (Editor) In 2006, the contemporary American Pentecostal movement celebrated its 100th birthday. Over that time, its African American sector has been markedly influential, not only vis-à-vis other branches of Pentecostalism but also throughout the Christian church. Black Christians have been integrally involved in every aspect of the Pentecostal movement since its inception and have made significant contributions to its founding as well as the evolution of Pentecostal/charismatic styles of worship, preaching, music, engagement of social issues, and theology.

Pragmatic Spirituality: The Christian Faith Through an Africentric Lens by Gayraud S. Wilmore Pragmatic Spirituality brings together some of his most compelling writings to speak to continuing issues in African American Christianity and black theology. The volume makes available for the first time several of Wilmore's previously unpublished essays, including a new chapter on womanist theology written for this book.

Embodiment and the New Shape of Black Theological Thought by Anthony B. Pinn Black theology tends to be a theology about no-body. Though one might assume that black and womanist theology have already given significant attention to the nature and meaning of black bodies as a theological issue, this inquiry has primarily taken the form of a focus on issues relating to liberation, treating the body in abstract terms rather than focusing on the experiencing of a material, fleshy reality. By focusing on the body as a physical entity and not just a metaphorical one, Pinn offers a new approach to theological thinking about race, gender, and sexuality.

Prophesy Deliverance! an Afro-American Revolutionary Christianity by Cornel West American Africans in conflict : alienation in an insecure culture -- A genealogy of modern racism -- The four traditions of response -- Prophetic Afro-American Christian thought and progressive Marxism -- Afro-American revolutionary Christianity.

Black Preaching by Henry H. Mitchell Why hermeneutic? -- What is Black? -- A history of Black preaching -- The Black context for preaching -- The Black Bible -- Black English -- The Black style -- The Black sermon -- Toward a theology of Black preaching -- The Black pulpit of tomorrow -- The gospel--in black and white.

Working Against the Grain: Re-Imaging Black Theology in the 21st Century by Anthony G. Reddie The essays present a radical Black theology that empowers disenfranchised Black people whilst challenging White power to see and act differently.'Working Against the Grain'is an essential text for all those interested in the pursuit of racial justice and other forms of anti-oppressive practice, both inside the church and beyond it.

Home Away from Home: The Caribbean Diasporan Church in the Black Atlantic Tradition by Delroy A. Reid-Salmon 'Home Away from Home'identifies the different forms of Caribbean diasporan identity and argues that the faith Caribbean people brought with them into the diaspora plays a central role in their development. The study provides a theological interpretation of the diasporan experience, and outlines the principles of diasporan theology and the distinctiveness of its church.

Islam in Black America: Identity, Liberation, and Difference in African-American Islamic Thought by Edward E. Curtis A fine interpretation of the views of Edward Blyden, Noble Drew Ali, Elijah Muhammad, Warith Deen Muhammad, and Louis Farrakhan

The Call of Bilal: Islam in the African Diaspora by Edward E. Curtis How do people in the African diaspora practice Islam? While the term 'Black Muslim' may conjure images of Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali, millions of African-descended Muslims around the globe have no connection to the American-based Nation of Islam. The Call of Bilal is a penetrating account of the rich diversity of Islamic religious practice among Africana Muslims worldwide.

Islam in American Prisons: Black Muslims' Challenge to American Penology by Hamid Reza Kusha The growth of Islam both worldwide and particularly in the United States is especially notable among African-American inmates incarcerated in American state and federal penitentiaries. This growth poses a powerful challenge to American penal philosophy, structured on the ideal of rehabilitating offenders through penance and appropriate penal measures. Islam in American Prisons argues that prisoners converting to Islam seek an alternative form of redemption, one that poses a powerful epistemological as well as ideological challenge to American penology.

When the Word is Given: A Report on Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X, and the Black Muslim World by Louis E. Lomax Part one. The coming of the prophet. Make it plain, Mr. Minister! ; From Moses to Malcolm X ; The Nation of Islam ; The Black Muslims and the Negro revolt -- Part two. The prophet's voice. Muhammad at Atlanta ; Malcolm X at Harvard ; Malcolm X on "unity" ; Malcolm X's "university speech" ; Malcolm X at Queen's College ; Malcolm X at Yale

Muslim Cool: Race, Religion, and Hip Hop in the United States by Su'ad Abdul Khabeer Constructed through hip hop and the performance of Blackness, Muslim Cool is a way of engaging with the Black American experience by both Black and non-Black young Muslims that challenges racist norms in the U.S. as well as dominant ethnic and religious structures within American Muslim communities. Drawing on ethnographic research, Su'ad Abdul Khabeer illuminates the ways in which young and multiethnic U.S. Muslims draw on Blackness to construct their identities as Muslims.

Inside the Nation of Islam: A Historical and Personal Testimony by a Black Muslim by Vibert L. White The first truly 'inside' account of the present-day Nation of Islam from the perspective of one of its former ministers, a portrayal as fascinating as it is troubling. This detailed study of the internal workings of the Nation of Islam under the leadership of Louis Farrakhan examines the evolution of the organization since 1977 and its strange ideological menu of Black Nationalism, political-economic development, anti-Semitism, and conservative Republican ideals.

Engaged Surrender: African American Women and Islam by Carolyn Moxley Rouse Her richly textured study provides rare insight into the meaning of Islam for African American women; in particular, Rouse shows how the teachings of Islam give these women a sense of power and control over interpretations of gender, family, authority, and obligations. In Engaged Surrender, Islam becomes a unique prism for clarifying the role of faith in contemporary black women's experience.

I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown The author's first encounter with a racialized America came at age seven, when her parents told her they named her Austin to deceive future employers into thinking she was a white man. She grew up in majority-white schools, organizations, and churches, and has spent her life navigating America's racial divide as a writer, a speaker, and an expert helping organizations practice genuine inclusion. While so many institutions claim to value diversity in their mission statements, many fall short of matching actions to words. Brown highlights how white middle-class evangelicalism has participated in the rise of racial hostility, and encourages the reader to confront apathy and recognize God's ongoing work in the world.

The Life and Times of Elijah Muhammad by Claude Andrew Clegg In this authoritative biography, which also covers half a century of the evolution of the Nation of Islam, Clegg charts Muhammad's early life, his brush with Jim Crow in the South, his rise to leadership of the Nation of Islam, and his tumultuous relationship with Malcolm X. Clegg is the first biographer to weave together speeches and published works by Muhammad, as well as delving into declassified government documents, insider accounts, audio and video records, and interviews, producing the definitive account of an extraordinary man and his legacy.

The Magnificent Mays: A Biography of Benjamin Elijah Mays by John Herbert Roper Civil rights activist, writer, theologian, preacher, and educator, Benjamin Elijah Mays (1894–1984). He influenced the lives of generations of students as a dean and professor of religion at Howard University and as longtime president of Morehouse College in Atlanta. In addition to his personal achievements, Mays was also a mentor and teacher to Julian Bond, founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee; future Atlanta mayor Maynard Jackson; writer, preacher, and theologian Howard Washington Thurman; and the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.

Little X: Growing Up in the Nation of Islam by Sonsyrea Tate A portrait of daily Islamic life as seen through the eyes of a young girl describes her family's decision to become members of the Nation of Islam, her strict but empowering Muslim education, and her struggle to fit into the non-Muslim world.

Mama Lola: a Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn by Karen McCarthy Brown; Claudine Michel (Foreword by) Deeply exploring the role of women in religious practices and the related themes of family and of religion and social change, Brown provides a rich context in which to understand the authority that urban Haitian women exercise in the home and in the Vodou temple.

King: A Critical Biography by David L. Lewis

Malcolm X: a Life of Reinvention by Manning Marable This biography of Malcolm X draws on new research to trace his life from his troubled youth through his involvement in the Nation of Islam, his activism in the world of Black Nationalism, and his assassination. Years in the making, it is a definitive biography of the legendary black activist. Of the great figures in twentieth-century American history perhaps none is more complex and controversial than Malcolm X. Constantly rewriting his own story, he became a criminal, a minister, a leader, and an icon, all before being felled by assassins' bullets at age thirty-nine. Through his tireless work and countless speeches he empowered hundreds of thousands of black Americans to create better lives and stronger communities while establishing the template for the self-actualized, independent African American man. In death he became a broad symbol of both resistance and reconciliation for millions around the world. Filled with new information and shocking revelations that go beyond the Autobiography of Malcolm X, this work unfolds a story of race and class in America, from the rise of Marcus Garvey and the Ku Klux Klan to the struggles of the civil rights movement in the fifties and sixties. Reaching into Malcolm's troubled youth, it traces a path from his parents' activism through his own engagement with the Nation of Islam, charting his astronomical rise in the world of Black Nationalism and culminating in the never-before-told true story of his assassination. This work captures the story of one of the most singular forces for social change, a man who constantly strove, in the great American tradition, to remake himself anew.

Mysterious Voodoo Queen, Marie Laveaux: A Study of Powerful Female Leadership in Nineteenth Century New Orleans by Ina J. Fandrich This study investigates the emergence of powerful female leadership in New Orleans' Voodoo tradition. It provides a careful examination of the cultural, historical, economic, demographic and socio-political factors that contributed both to the feminization of this religious culture and its strong female leaders.

Virginia Broughton: The Life and Writings of a Missionary by Virginia W. Broughton; Tomeiko Ashford Carter Born into an elite African American family in Nashville, she began her professional career as a teacher and later became one of the most prominent domestic missionaries in the National Baptist Convention, U.S.A., as well as an accomplished speaker and writer. This annotated collection is the first scholarly work devoted entirely to Broughton's life and writings.