Black Religion and Aesthetics

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xi

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2. Introduction

   1. Introduction

      • Anthony B. Pinn

      Pages 1-15

3. North and South America

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 17-17

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   2. A Beautiful Be-Ing: Religious Humanism and the Aesthetics of a New Salvation

      • Anthony B. Pinn

      Pages 19-35

   3. The Foolish Woman Grows Angry Because They Teach Her: Influences of Sexism in Black Church Worship

      • Nancy Lynne Westfield

      Pages 37-52

   4. Spiritual Matters: The Aesthetics of Ritual Substances in Umbanda

      • Lindsay L. Hale

      Pages 53-69

   5. From Hattie to Halle: Black Female Bodies and Spectatorship as Ritual in Hollywood Cinema

      • Carol B. Duncan

      Pages 71-87

4. The Caribbean

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 89-89

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   2. Sacred Forms: Ritual, Representation, and the Body in Haitian Painting

      • Lizabeth Para visini-Gebert

      Pages 91-112

   3. Dancing with Ochún: Imagining How a Black Goddess Became White

      • Miguel A. De La Torre

      Pages 113-131

5. Europe

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 133-133

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   2. Black Suit Matters: Faith, Politics, and Representation in the Religious Documentary

      • Robert Beckford

      Pages 135-151

   3. A Dialectical Spirituality of Improvisation: The Ambiguity of Black Engagements with Sacred Texts

      • Anthony G. Reddie

      Pages 153-171

6. Africa

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 173-173

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   2. The Aesthetic Dimensions of Religion in South Africa: Africa Initiated Churches Considered

      • Linda E. Thomas

      Pages 175-185

   3. Aesthetics in African Art: Implications for African Theology

      • Elias K. Bongmba

      Pages 187-203

7. Back Matter

   Pages 205-220

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A great deal of attention has been given to the sociopolitical and theological importance of Black Religion. However, of less academic concern up to this point is the aesthetic qualities that define much of what is said and done within the context of Black Religion. Recognizing the centrality of the black body for black religious thought and life, this book proposes a conversation concerning various dimensions of the aesthetic considerations and qualities of Black Religion as found in various parts of the world, including the the Americas, the Caribbean, Africa, and Europe. In this respect, Black Religion is simply meant to connote the religious orientations and arrangements of people of African descent across the globe.

• aesthetics
• black church
• Europe
• religion

"This is a rare book in Africana studies. Its writers nicely demonstrate how African peoples sought both liberation and salvation through the development of new aesthetic and artistic forms that rendered black bodies beautiful in spite of the countless brutal attacks perpetrated on them. Undoubtedly, this book will spark many additionalstudies along similar lines." - Peter J. Paris, Elmer G. Homrighausen Professor of Christian Social Ethics, Emeritus, Princeton Theological Seminary

"Pinn has once again challenged us to expand our understanding of the complexity of Black Religion. In these wide-ranging essays, we find a ground-breaking exploration of its aesthetic qualities, qualities that play an integral role in the power of Black Religion in the lives of individuals, and in its political and cultural impact...These essays invite scholars of religion to expand our frame of reference, just as they expose students to the complexity of religious life. This is a generative text, one likely to spark creative dialogue about religion across disciplines, as well as evoking new attention among scholars to the aesthetic dimensions of black religious thought and life. It is both timely and likely to have long-lasting impact." Sharon D. Welch, Provost and Professor of Theology, Meadville Lombard Theological School.

ANTHONY PINN is Agnes Cullen Arnold Professor of Humanities at Rice University, Texas, USA.

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