Author Description

African Americans and Religious Freedom: New Perspectives for Congregations and Communities is a collection of essays examining how and in what ways African Americans have navigated the contested terrain of religious freedom in America. The second edition features a new preface by the editors. The essays present novel interpretations of religious freedom critically informed by African American culture, history, ideas, and religious experiences. Just as the traditional narrative of religious freedom is inadequate to represent the history and experience of this ideal in America, there is no singular African American perspective that fully expresses the multiple and varied expressions of this variegated discourse. Indeed, the sheer diversity of African American perspectives serves to underscore why the traditional narrative of religious freedom in America stands in need of critical revision.