Emile Durkheim’s interpretation of religion provides an important insight into its meaning for black women: “The believer who has communicated with his [or her] god is not merely a man [or woman] who sees new truths of which the unbeliever is ignorant; he [or she] is a man [or woman] who is stronger. He [or she] feels within him [or her] more force, either to endure the trials of existence, or to conquer them.”[64]
