The Preface is intended to initially engage the reader by highlighting my perspective in writing the text. This leads to the Introduction, which gives the breadth of the study indicating some of the problems discussing religions of Africa and its Diaspora. Here, I also make space to define terms used in the book: religion, African Diaspora, and Black people.

With these opening statements, the processes of thinking through the shapes of religions of Africa and its Diaspora begins. Chapter 1 expands on the centrality of the African continent to provide deeper context to the study. Religions carry cultures, defined broadly, dependent on place/geography and social practices/political structures. Reaching from the 16th century, distinctions and differences were established between the West and Africa and the inhabitants of each. What was “Africa” before the arrival of Europeans? How did the arrival of Europeans shape both Europe and the continent of Africa? How did colonialism and partitioning shape the continent? What happened with the forced extraction of African people and other natural resources? How did the establishment of chattel slavery redefine the African derived cultures? How did colonialism re-shape understandings of Black religions? How does colonialism, in past or present form, continue its influence?

Chapter 2 focuses on forms of African-derived religions in the United States that claimed a direct connection to the African continent and traditions of Black cultures. The connections to the continent, in some ways, may have been romantic but politics and necessity played key roles. The answer to dehumanization by white people, they said, would be found in Africa. During the 1920s, Pan Africanism became more defined and Black leaders used religious movements to call their communities to be something other than white-defined people. I will discuss three examples of these religious movements. The first is the Moorish Science Temple developed by Noble Drew Ali which eventually became the Nation of Islam. The second is Pan African Orthodox Church, begun by Marcus and Amy Garvey which developed in different ways some decades later under the direction of Albert Cleage (whose name was later changed to Jaramogi Abebe Agyeman). A later but related example in the 20th century drew from ancient Egyptian religious thought, the Ausar Aset Society.

Chapter 3 returns to the focus on the African continent and highlights three African religions that more directly influenced developments of African Diasporan spirituality. All derived from the Afrikan west or west central area: Bakongo; Orisa Ifá; and Vodun. They are roughly from the current Republic of Congo, Nigeria, and Benin. Each of these religious/spiritual traditions had very direct influences on the development of African Diasporan religions, sometimes blending, always developing.

No country or region parallels traditional Afrikan religious thought so closely as Brazil's Candomblé. Chapter 4 explores aspects of this rich religious tradition and some of the connections with the African Diaspora. The area of Bahia is especially important to the Candomblé tradition and I emphasize some connections with Black Americans through the Sisters of the Good Death or Irmandade da Boa Morte.

Chapter 5 turns to Haiti and Cuba. Haiti has different strands of these Diasporan traditions, Vodoun and Palo, blending Kongo and Orisa-Ifá. Haiti's cultural presence in the U.S. was bolstered by Katherine Dunham, whose artistry defined religiosity and spirituality. Cuba's Lucumí is another tradition derived from Orisa-Ifá. Some identify it as Santería, but my contacts no longer want to use that name. Both the Haitian and the Cuban religious traditions played roles in the political lives of the respective countries, particularly in independence movements, and has had influence on Black Americans.

The United States has a variety of African-derived spiritualties. Two of the historically developed traditions are hoodoo and voodoo. Both may be popularized in Black communities through churches with healing practices; both may be commodified through online sites or botánicas selling charms or cures. Yet, today, there are several existing communities of Ifá, Palo, Candomblé, and multiple new forms existing throughout the U.S. with ties to the African continent. Chapter 6 brings several of these into the discussion.

Chapter 7 turns to Christianity as a religion of the African Diaspora because of its significance to Black Americans. Some Black American churches have had “African” in their names from the beginnings of their existences, notably, African Methodist Episcopal (1816) and African Methodist Zion (1821). There were times that Black Americans referred to themselves as African, such as the African Anglo Society in New York and the newspaper they produced, the Afro-African in the 1830s. The calls for African identities and Black humanity continue through Christian traditions via theological scholarship of Noel Erskine, James Cone, and Jacquelyn Grant.

The conclusion gathers themes from previous chapters, closing this journey. From the perspective of the Diaspora in the United States, a reflection on the meanings of Afrikan spiritualities through history in relation to the humanity of Black people will invite the reader to further studies. Only dead religions never change. The diversity of African spiritual thought demonstrates vibrant evolution over centuries and across multiple continents.