The African Religions of Brazil: Toward a Sociology of the Interpenetration of CivilizationsWritten by one of France's most brilliant and creative anthropologists, The African Religions of Brazil is regarded as a classic in Afro-American studies. First published in France in 1960, the book represents a singular effort to develop a theory of the interpenetrations of African, European, Christian, and non-Christian cultures in Brazil from colonial times to the present. Addressing a remarkable range of topics—from mysticism and syncretism to the problems of collective memory, from the history of slavery in Brazil to world-wide race relations—the work is shaped by the author's rich and original conceptual framework. The result is a compelling study of the origins and growth of a native religious environment. The English translation is supplemented with a biographical foreword by Richard Price and a thematic introduction by Brazilian sociologist Duglas T. Monteiro. |
Contents
The Importation of Portugal and Africa to America | 1 |
New Social Frameworks for AfroBrazilian Religions | 58 |
Slave Protest and Religion | 78 |
The Religious Element in Racial Conflict | 97 |
Two Catholicisms | 109 |
Survivals of African Religion | 126 |
Black Islam in Brazil | 143 |
Religions Ethnic Groups and Social Classes | 155 |
How the African Religious Sects Function | 220 |
11 | 240 |
Problems of Religious Syncretism | 260 |
Two Types of Disintegration | 285 |
The Birth of a Religion | 304 |
Assimilation | 343 |
Conclusions | 375 |
Geography and the AfroBrazilian Religions | 173 |