The Encyclopedia of Caribbean Religions (PDF)

The Encyclopedia of Caribbean Religions is the definitive reference for Caribbean religious phenomena from a Caribbean perspective. Generously illustrated, this landmark project combines the breadth of a comparative approach to religion with the depth of understanding of Caribbean spirituality as an ever-changing and varied historical phenomenon. Organized alphabetically, entries examine how Caribbean religious experiences have been shaped by and have responded to the processes of colonialism and the challenges of the postcolonial world.
Systematically organized by theme and area, the encyclopedia considers religious traditions such as Vodou, Rastafari, Sunni Islam, Sanatan Dharma, Judaism, and the Roman Catholic and Seventh-day Adventist churches. Detailed subentries present topics such as religious rituals, beliefs, practices, specific historical developments, geographical differences, and gender roles within major traditions. Also included are entries that address the religious dimensions of geographical territories that make up the Caribbean.
Representing the culmination of more than a decade of work by the associates of the Caribbean Religions Project, The Encyclopedia of Caribbean Religions will foster a greater understanding of the role of religion in Caribbean life and society, in the Caribbean diaspora, and in wider national and transnational spaces.
|Patrick Taylor is former chair of the Department of Humanities at York University and a fellow of the Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean. He is the author of The Narrative of Liberation: Perspectives on Afro-Caribbean Literature, Popular Culture, and Politics and editor of Nation Dance: Religion, Identity, and Cultural Difference in the Caribbean.Frederick I. Case was principal of Caribbean studies and French at New College, University of Toronto, and authored The Crisis of Identity: Studies in the Guadeloupean and Martiniquan Novel, among other works.