Customer Reviews

Encyclopedia of African and African-American Religions (Religion and Society)

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This encyclopedia is a good starting point for understanding the complex interrelationships among African, African American, and European religious beliefs, practices, and traditions in a global context. Recommended for all libraries. Marc Meola in The Library Journal (December 2000).

This encyclopedia is a beautiful production---well-illustrated, with fascinating little excerpts from contemporary accounts, religious writings, etc. It is also full of fascinating information about a wide swath of religious experience. Most of the articles are very well written; they average 2-5 pages in length, so issues are reasonably well developed. But the work is rather unbalanced. It has less about African religion (whether indigenous or syncretic) than I had hoped to see, and, most notably, endless repetitive entries about very similar African-derived religions in the Americas. The same explanations of Yoruba orisha, protection of African religion by adopting outward aspects of Catholicism, etc. appeared in too many articles.

An A-to-Z encyclopedia containing some 150 entries discussing the religious movements and churches of Sub-Saharan Africa, including major indigenous religious such as those of the Zulu, Yoruba, Akan, and Nuer peoples; North America, including black churches within mainstream religions, African-American religions and churches, and associated institutions such as the Rainbow Coalition; and South America and the Caribbean, including major religions such as Rastafari, Santeria, and Vodou and the more localized Umbanda and Tambor de Mina. Also surveys African-derived religions in a number of other nations. Coverage includes the growing world-wide influence of African and African-American religions; general topics, practices, beliefs, and institutions such as music, material culture, deities, healing, slave religion, theology, and religious-based political movements. Entries are written by anthropologists, historians, religious scholars, sociologists, and others and include sometimes fuzzy but well-chosen b&w images.

Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)