Spirited Diasporas

First-person accounts that show the expanding

demographics of African-descended religions



In this focused portrayal of global dispersal and spiritual sojourning, Martin Tsang draws together first-person accounts of the evolving Afro-Atlantic religious landscape. Spirited Diasporas offers a glimpse into the frequently misunderstood religions of Afro-Cuban Lucum?, Haitian Vodou, and Brazilian Candombl?, adding to the growing research on the transnational yet personal nature of African diasporic religions.



?In these accounts, practitioners from many origins illustrate the work and commitment they undertook to learn and become initiated in these traditions. They reveal in the process a variety of experiences that are not often documented. Their perspectives also show the expanding contemporary demographics of African-descended religions, many of whose members identify as LGBTQIA+ or are part of other minoritized populations, and they counter inaccurate and often racialized portrayals of these religions as being antimodern and geographically limited.



Through the voices of the professionals, scholars, and activists

gathered here, readers will appreciate the purpose and belonging to be found in

the far-reaching communities of these Latin American and Caribbean

spiritualities. As the seekers in these stories discover and come home to their

new religious families, Spirited Diasporas displays the relevance and

generative power of these traditions.



Contributors: Morgan M. Page

Michael Atwood Mason Eugenia Rainey Alex Bettencourt Solimar Otero

Yoshiaki Koshikawa Belia Mayeno Saavedra Sue Kucklick-Arencibia Ivor

Miller Terri-Dawn Gonz?lez Dr. Martin A. Tsang Giovanna Capponi Philippe

Charlier