Creole Religions of the Caribbean

A comprehensive introduction to the syncretic religions developed in the Caribbean region
Creolization—the coming together of diverse beliefs and practices to form new beliefs and practices—is one of the most significant phenomena in Caribbean religious history. Brought together in the crucible of the sugar plantation, Caribbean peoples drew on the variants of Christianity brought by European colonizers, as well as on African religious and healing traditions and the remnants of Amerindian practices, to fashion new systems of belief.
Creole Religions of the Caribbean offers a comprehensive introduction to the syncretic religions that have developed in the region. From Vodou, Santería, Regla de Palo, the Abakuá Secret Society, and Obeah to Quimbois and Espiritismo, the volume traces the historical–cultural origins of the major Creole religions, as well as the newer traditions such as Pocomania and Rastafarianism. This second edition updates the scholarship on the religions themselves and also expands the regional considerations of the Diaspora to the U. S. Latino community who are influenced by Creole spiritual practices. Fernández Olmos and Paravisini–Gebert also take into account the increased significance of material culture—art, music, literature—and healing practices influenced by Creole religions.

Lizabeth Paravisini-Gebert (Author)
Lizabeth Paravisini-Gebert is Professor of Caribbean culture and literature in the Department of Hispanic Studies and The Environmental Studies Program at Vassar College, where she holds the Sarah Tod Fitz Randolph Distinguished Professor Chair.. She is the author of a number of books and is coeditor with Fernández Olmos of Healing Cultures: Art and Religion as Curative Practices in the Caribbean and its Diaspora.
Margarite Fernández Olmos (Author)
Margarite Fernández Olmos is Emerita Professor of Spanish and Latin American literatures at Brooklyn College, City University of New York. She is the author or co-editor of many books, including The Latino Reader: An American Literary Tradition from 1542 to the Present.
Joseph M. Murphy (Foreword by)