The African Religions of Brazil: Toward a Sociology of the Interpenetration of Civilizations

Written by one of France’s most brilliant and creative anthropologists, The 'African Religions of Brazil' is regarded as a classic in Afro-American studies. First published in France in 1960, the book was—and still is—the only attempt ever made to develop a theory of the interpenetrations of the African and European, Christian and non-Christian, cultures in Brazil from colonial times to the present. Addressing a remarkable range of topics from mysticism and syncretism to the problems of collective memory, from the history of slavery in Brazil to world-wide race relations, the work-is shaped by the author’s rich and original conceptual framework: the ongoing process of the interpenetration of civilizations. The result is a compelling study of the origins and growth of a native religious environment. This long-awaited English translation has been supplemented with a biographical foreword by Richard Price and a thematic introduction by Brazilian sociologist Duglas T. Monteiro. About the author: At the time of his death in 1974, Roger Bastide was a professor in the 'Faculté de Lettres et Sciences Humaines' at the Sorbonne. Of a rich scholarly legacy of some thirty books and well over three hundred articles, his acknowledged masterwork is 'The African Religions of Brazil'.