Religion is one of the most important elements of Afro-Caribbean culture linking its people to their African past, from Haitian Vodou and Cuban Santeria—popular religions that have often been demonized in popular culture—to Rastafari in Jamaica and Orisha-Shango of Trinidad and Tobago. In Afro-Caribbean Religions, Nathaniel Samuel Murrell provides a comprehensive study that respectfully traces the social, historical, and political contexts of these religions. And, because Brazil has the largest African population in the world outside of Africa, and has historic ties to the Caribbean, Murrell includes a section on Candomble, Umbanda, Xango, and Batique. This accessibly written introduction to Afro-Caribbean religions examines the cultural traditions and transformations of all of the African-derived religions of the Caribbean along with their cosmology, beliefs, cultic structures, and ritual practices. Ideal for classroom use, Afro-Caribbean Religions also includes a glossary defining unfamiliar terms and identifying key figures.

"The Oxford Handbook of Caribbean Religions offers a comprehensive overview of Caribbean religions. The Caribbean is a microcosm of the world's religions, but the small geographic space resulted in the encounter of global religions and indigenous religious practices. The racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity of this region makes brief introductions to Caribbean religions incapable of truly addressing its complex and diverse religious landscape. The Handbook also elaborates on the diversity of the religious traditions and the national particularity of the region while also considering multiple geographic settings. It mentions how often Caribbean religion is studied through the perspective of a discrete religious tradition or geographic setting"--

Crucial Issues in Caribbean Religions concentrates on the effects of intersections in the Caribbean of major world religions such as Christianity (both Catholicism and Protestantism), Judaism, Islam, and Hinduism, with indigenous religions such as Caribs and Arawaks, and African-derived religions such as Lucumi (Yoruba/Santeria/Regla de Ocha), Regla de Palo, Vodun, Obeah, Rastafari, Orisa, or Shango in Trinidad. Closely examined are the social and economic problems and issues of exile, slavery, oppression, racism, sexism, ethnocentrism, cultural dominance, religious diversity, syncretism, popular religiosity, religious and spiritual imperialism, continuity and change, survival techniques in the face of attempts at eradication by religious powers, interreligious dialogue, and the quest for universal spirituality.

For centuries, Santeria has been part of life in the Americas. From the island nation of Cuba, where it first emerged, it has been disseminated throughout Latin America and has a significant presence in the United States of America. It has adherents in nations across the Atlantic – even in those nations that were once driving forces in the colonialist project of subduing the Americas. What you'll learn in this book will challenge the popular depiction of Santeria that so many of us are accustomed to. You'll discover that Santeria is a communally-based, no hierarchical, grassroots religion and that one of its most pressing aims is to make its followers better people. Because of Santeria's origins in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, it has been maligned as brutal, evil, savage, and unholy. But in this book, you'll read the truth about this New World religion. You'll come to understand Santeria as not only a story of cultural and spiritual survival but as a challenge to colonialism and its demands.

The colonial history of the Caribbean created a context in which many religions, from indigenous to African-based to Christian, intermingled with one another, creating a rich diversity of religious life. Caribbean Religious History offers the first comprehensive religious history of the region. Ennis B. Edmonds and Michelle A. Gonzalez begin their exploration with the religious traditions of the Amerindians who flourished prior to contact with European colonizers, then detail the transplantation of Catholic and Protestant Christianity and their centuries of struggles to become integral to the Caribbean’s religious ethos, and trace the twentieth century penetration of American Evangelical Christianity, particularly in its Pentecostal and Holiness iterations. Caribbean Religious History also illuminates the influence of Africans and their descendants on the shaping of such religious traditions as Vodou, Santeria, Revival Zion, Spiritual Baptists, and Rastafari, and the success of Indian indentured laborers and their descendants in reconstituting Hindu and Islamic practices in their new environment. Paying careful attention to the region’s social and political history, Edmonds and Gonzalez present a one-volume panoramic introduction to this religiously vibrant part of the world.

The Encyclopedia of Caribbean Religions is the definitive reference for Caribbean religious phenomena from a Caribbean perspective. Generously illustrated, this landmark project combines the breadth of a comparative approach to religion with the depth of understanding of Caribbean spirituality as an ever-changing and varied historical phenomenon. Organized alphabetically, entries examine how Caribbean religious experiences have been shaped by and have responded to the processes of colonialism and the challenges of the postcolonial world. Systematically organized by theme and area, the encyclopedia considers religious traditions such as Vodou, Rastafari, Sunni Islam, Sanatan Dharma, Judaism, and the Roman Catholic and Seventh-day Adventist churches. Detailed subentries present topics such as religious rituals, beliefs, practices, specific historical developments, geographical differences, and gender roles within major traditions. Also included are entries that address the religious dimensions of geographical territories that make up the Caribbean. Representing the culmination of more than a decade of work by the associates of the Caribbean Religions Project, The Encyclopedia of Caribbean Religions will foster a greater understanding of the role of religion in Caribbean life and society, in the Caribbean diaspora, and in wider national and transnational spaces.

"Caribbean Diaspora in the USA" presents a new cultural theory based on an exploration of Caribbean religious communities in New York City. The Caribbean culture of New York demonstrates a cultural dynamism which embraces Spanish speaking, English speaking and French speaking migrants. All cultures are full of breaks and contradictions as Latin American and Caribbean theorists have demonstrated in their ongoing debate. This book combines unique research by the author in Caribbean New York with the theoretical discourse of Latin American and Caribbean scholars.Focusing on Caribbean religious communities, including Cuban/Puerto Rican Santeria (Regla de Ocha), Haitian Vodou, Shango (Orisha Baptist) from Trinidad and Tobago, and Brazilian Pentecostal church, Schmidt's observations lead to the construction of a cultural concept that illustrates a culture in an ongoing state of change, with more than one form of expression depending on situation, time and context. Showing the creativity of religions and the way immigrants adapt to their new surroundings, this book fills a gap between Latin American and Caribbean Studies.

Banning Black Gods is a global examination of the legal challenges faced by adherents of the most widely practiced African-derived religions in the twenty-first century, including Santeria/Lucumi, Haitian Vodou, Candomblé, Palo Mayombe, Umbanda, Islam, Rastafari, Obeah, and Voodoo. Examining court cases, laws, human rights reports, and related materials, Danielle N. Boaz argues that restrictions on African diaspora religious freedom constitute a unique and pervasive form of anti-Black discrimination. Emphasizing that these twenty-first-century cases and controversies are not a new phenomenon but rather a reemergence of colonial-era ideologies and patterns of racially motivated persecution, Boaz focuses each chapter on a particular challenge to Black religious freedom. She examines issues such as violence against devotees, restrictions on the ritual slaughter of animals, limitations on the custodial rights of parents, and judicial refusals to recognize these faiths as protected religions. Boaz introduces new issues that have never been considered as a question of religious freedom before—such as the right of Palo Mayombe devotees to possess remains of the dead—and she brings together controversies that have not been previously regarded as analogous, such as the right to wear headscarves and the right to wear dreadlocks in schools. Framing these issues in comparative perspective and focusing on transnational and transregional issues, Boaz advances our understanding of the larger human rights disputes that country-specific studies can overlook. Original and compelling, this important new book will be welcomed by students and scholars of African diaspora religions and discerning readers interested in learning more about the history of racial discrimination

The Routledge Companion to Religion and Film brings together a lively and experienced team of contributors to introduce students to the key topics in religion and film and to investigate the ways in which the exciting subject of religion and film is developing for more experienced scholars. Divided into four parts, the Companion: analyzes the history of the interaction of religion and film, through periods of censorship as well as appreciation of the medium studies religion-in-film, examining how the world’s major religions, as well as Postcolonial, Japanese and New Religions, are depicted by and within films uses diverse methodologies to explore religion and film, such as psychoanalytical, theological and feminist approaches, and audience reception analyzes religious themes in film, including Redemption, the Demonic, Jesus or Christ Figures, Heroes and Superheroes considers films as diverse as The Passion of the Christ, The Matrix, Star Wars and Groundhog Day. This definitive book provides an accessible resource to this emerging field and is an indispensable guide to religion and film for students of Religion, Film Studies, and beyond.