Semiosis of African American Religion

01 Introduction

02 World of Signs and Religion
1. Religious symbols __ 7
2. Peirce's triadic semiotics __ 11
3. Nevilles' religious symbolism __ 19
4. Interpretation of Sacred Literature __ 23
5. Corrington's world semiosis and the evolution of meaning __ 27

03 Historical overview of African American Religion

04 African American Religion during slavery
1. Backgrounds of Christianizing Slaves __ 69
2. Difficulties in Slave Conversion During the First Century of
Slavery __ 71
3. Revival and Conversion __ 80

05 Characteristics of African-American Religion
1. White Religion? __ 89
2. Compensatory and Transcendent __ 92
3. Social and Political __ 98
4. African Heritage __ 106
5. Slave religion and archeology __ 132

06 African American religion after emancipation
1. Postbellum black religion __ 143
2. African-American Religious and Food culture __ 148
3. Religion and gender __ 158
4. Mega-churches and charismatic leadership __ 162
5. Religion, spirituality, and the African American Family __ 168
6. Contemporary African-American Worship Practices __ 177
7. Religion and Racial Integration __ 192
8. African American Church and Community Activism __ 201

07 Conclusion

Bibliography __ 217

Index __ 255