Duke University Press Spirit on the Move: Black Women and Pentecostalism in Africa and the Diaspora (Religious Cultures of African and African Diaspora People)

Product Description Pentecostalism is currently the fastest growing Christian movement, with hundreds of millions of followers. This growth overwhelmingly takes place outside of the West, with women comprising seventy-five percent of the membership. The contributors to Spirit on the Move examine Pentecostalism's appeal to black women worldwide and the ways it provides them with a source of community and access to power. Exploring a range of topics, from neo-Pentecostal churches in Ghana that help women challenge gender norms to evangelical gospel musicians in Brazil, the contributors show how Pentecostalism helps black women draw attention to and seek remediation from the violence and injustices brought on by civil war, capitalist exploitation, racism, and the failures of the state. In fleshing out the experiences, theologies, and innovations of black women Pentecostals, the contributors show how Pentecostal belief and its various practices reflect the movement's complexity, reach, and adaptability to specific cultural and political formations. Contributors. Paula Aymer, John Burdick, Judith Casselberry, Deidre Crumbley, Elizabeth McAlister, Laura Premack, Elizabeth A. Pritchard, Jane Soothill, Linda van de Kamp Review "Should be widely read by the African Studies community and particularly within the (re-emerging!) field of African Christianity."--Adam Mohr "African Studies Review" (10/26/2020 12:00:00 AM) "The editors and contributors of Spirit on the Move have successfully attended to this task without fear of troubling the waters of tidy conclusions in favor or against Black women's relation to Pentecostalism. Scholars and Pentecostal practitioners can listen to and be taught by the global women portrayed in the pages of this book."--Allison Kach "Sociology of Religion" (3/1/2020 12:00:00 AM) Review “This groundbreaking collection of essays offers readers a much needed and richly nuanced look into the lives and communities of the women behind one of the fastest growing religious movements in the world. It is a must read for scholars of religion and those more broadly interested in the social impact of Pentecostal faith.” (Marla Frederick, author of Colored Television: American Religion Gone Global) About the Author Judith Casselberry is Associate Professor of Africana Studies at Bowdoin College and author of The Labor of Faith: Gender and Power in Black Apostolic Pentecostalism, also published by Duke University Press. Elizabeth A. Pritchard is Associate Professor of Religion at Bowdoin College and author of Religion in Public: Locke's Political Theology.