

An edition of Ain't gonna lay my 'ligion down (1996)
African American religion in the South
By Alonzo Johnson,Paul T. Jersild
Publish Date
1996
Publisher
University of South Carolina Press
Language
eng
Pages
141
Description:
"Ain't Gonna Lay My 'Ligion Down" reveals the ways that African Americans have "put flesh on their Christian beliefs," adapting the faith of their European American masters and creating distinctive forms of religious expression. The contributors to the volume examine specific African American religious customs and practices - seekin' the Lord, ring shouting, dancing, pray's houses, ecstatic trances, spirit possession, folk songs, music, tales - and the efforts of African American religious leaders to show the remarkable degree to which newly imported slaves preserved their African spiritual heritage while simultaneously meshing it with Western symbols and theological claims.