Esotericism in African American Religious Experience: "There Is a Mystery"...

by Stephen C. Finley (Editor), Hugh R. Page Jr. (Editor), Margarita Simon Guillory (Editor)

In Esotericism in African American Religious "There is a Mystery" ... , Stephen C. Finley, Margarita Simon Guillory, and Hugh R. Page, Jr. assemble twenty groundbreaking essays that provide a rationale and parameters for Africana Esoteric Studies (AES): a new trans-disciplinary enterprise focused on the investigation of esoteric lore and practices in Africa and the African Diaspora. The goals of this new field -- while akin to those of Religious Studies, Africana Studies, and Western Esoteric Studies -- are focused on the impulses that give rise to Africana Esoteric Traditions (AETs) and the ways in which they can be understood as loci where issues such as race, ethnicity, and identity are engaged; and in which identity, embodiment, resistance, and meaning are negotiated.

428 pages, Hardcover

First published November 15, 2014

About the author

Dr. Stephen Carl Finley, Ph.D. (Religious Studies, Rice University, 2009; M.A., Rice, 2006; M.Div., Virginia Union University , 1997; B.A., Psychology, Pepperdine University, 1985) is Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies and the Program in African & African American Studies at Louisiana State University, specializing in African American religion. Previously he had taught at Marquette University, University of Houston, Virginia University of Lynchburg, and the Center for New Life.