Samuel Cruz is a sociologist of religion, race, sexuality and gender. Dr. Cruz is assistant professor of Church and Society at Union Theological Seminary City of New York. Dr. Cruz’s publications include a book, Masked Africanisms: Puerto Rican Pentecostalism (Kendall Hunt Publishing, 2005) as well as a number of book chapters and journal articles on Latina/o and global Pentecostalism, urban religion and on the sociology of religion—principal areas of his research and teaching. Dr. Cruz is also Senior Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, NY.