Contains primary source material.

The volume of material covers a period from the late eighteenth century until the early 1980s. The excerpts are divided into eight sections, representing different historical periods, regional variations, and non-Christian expressions of African American religion. Interestingly enough, the volume begins with a selection from Olaudah Equiano, "Traditional Ibo Religion and Culture." With this choice, Sernett is giving a nod to the debate that still fuels academic research in African American Studies, the Mellville Herskovits- E. Franklin Frazier debate, on the retention or non-retention of African cultural elements within African American life.