Mary Ann Clark is the author of several books, including Santería: Correcting the Myths and Uncovering the Realities of a Growing Religion, and has been interviewed in publications such as the L.A. Times and the Houston Chronicle. She is an independent scholar, teaches at Yavapai College, and lives in Prescott, Arizona.To learn more about the author, click here.

• PrefaceChapter 1: A Most Religious NationChapter 2: Jesus is my Bosom Friend: The Development of American ReligionChapter 3: African Christianity: Kingdom of KongoChapter 4: The Dead Are Not DeadChapter 5: Children of Oduduwa: The Oyo EmpireChapter 6: Then Why Not Every Man?Chapter 7: Children of the Leopard: Kingdom of DahomeyChapter 8: That Voodoo That You DoChapter 9: New African BranchesNotesGlossaryTimelineAdditional ReadingsBibliography

The last few years have seen a continuing and important reevaluation of the black experience of Christianity in America; this contribution by independent scholar Clark (religious studies, Univ. of Houston, Clear Lake) is one of the more readable and thoughtful studies. In well-researched chapters, Clark shows the profound and distinctive contributions of three of the African regions from which many slaves were brought to the New World: the kingdom of Kongo, the Oyo empire, and the kingdom of Dahomey. VERDICT A brief, concise, and flowingly written narrative of some of the most telling components of black religion in America, this book will be a fine introduction for the general reader, as well as a resource for black churches and university courses.