This Spot Of Ground: Spiritual Baptists In Toronto

Book Summary

"This Spot of Ground: Spiritual Baptists in Toronto" represents the first detailed exploration of an African-Caribbean religion in the context of contemporary migration to Canada. Toronto is home to Canada's largest black population, a significant portion of whom are Caribbean migrants and their descendants. The book examines the ways in which the immigration experiences of church members, the large majority of whom are women, have shaped the development of the religion in Canada, in tandem with the ways in which religious experiences have mediated the members' experiences of migration and everyday life in Canada. "This Spot of Ground" is based on a critical ethnography, including in-depth interviews and participant observations of church services and other ritual activities, including baptism and pilgrimage and field research in Trinidad that explores the transnational linkages with Spiritual Baptists there. Theoretical and methodological issues are addressed also, including the development of perspectives suitable for examining diasporic African religious and cultural expressions characterized by transnational migration, an emphasis on oral tradition as the repository of cultural history, and linguistic and cultural hybridity. "This Spot of Ground" contributes new information to the study of Caribbean religion and culture in the diaspora, providing a detailed examination of the significance of religion in the immigration process and identity and community formations of Caribbean people in Canada. This book will add to the literature on black churches in North America and Caribbean and African diasporic religious and cultural traditions in a larger North American context.

Book Details