Reinventing Religions: Syncretism and Transformation in Africa and the Americas

Once a central concept in anthropology, syncretism has recently re-emerged as a valuable tool for understanding the complex dynamics of ethnicity, post-colonialism, and transnationalism. Building on a century-long tradition of scholarship, this book formulates a broader view of the mixing and interpretation of religious beliefs and practices, primarily from Africa and Europe, highlighting the ways in which religions and cultures on both sides of the Atlantic have been assimilated and innovatively changed.