Spirit on the Move

“This groundbreaking collection of essays offers readers a much-needed and richly nuanced look into the lives and communities of the women behind one of the fastest-growing religious movements in the world. It is a must-read for scholars of religion and those more broadly interested in the social impact of Pentecostal faith.” - Marla Frederick, author of Colored Television: American Religion Gone Global

“Spirit on the Move proceeds at the intersection of Pentecostal and black feminist studies with important philosophical debate bearing on religious experience in a global world. It argues that Pentecostalism’s appeal to black women worldwide consists in its being the medium through which they engage forms of power at once intimate and embodied and embedded in nation-states and their interrelations. The focus is firmly on the ability of these Pentecostalists to become ‘masters of the meanings’ and thereby to move beyond diasporic lives that are merely liminal or nostalgic. The individual chapters augment the argument and provide new insights into modern subjectivities honed by struggle and informed by spirit. Quite simply one of the most insightful treatments I have read.” - Diane J. Austin-Broos, author of Jamaica Genesis: Religion and the Politics of Moral Orders

“The editors and contributors of Spirit on the Move have successfully attended to this task without fear of troubling the waters of tidy conclusions in favor or against Black women’s relation to Pentecostalism. Scholars and Pentecostal practitioners can listen to and be taught by the global women portrayed in the pages of this book.”

“Should be widely read by the African Studies community and particularly within the (re-emerging!) field of African Christianity.” - Adam Mohr, African Studies Review

“In light of its scope and the exigency of its foci, Spirit on the Move is best suited for religious studies scholars and upper level/graduate students. Even individuals, whose research agendas may not coincide with the text’s concerns directly, will greatly benefit from this consciousness raising and sensitizing work.” - Benjamin D. Crace, Nova Religio

"Given that women make up three quarters of the hundreds of millions of people who identify as Pentecostal, it is time for serious study of this growing religious sector. This volume offers a running start with essays that focus on Brasil, Ghana, Haiti, Nigeria, Mozambique, and elsewhere. Experiences vary widely across these enculturated groups, but women are shaping the movement much earlier in its history than in other Christian denominations. These essays alert scholars and interested readers about some trends and groups to watch." - WATER

"A good example of the benefit of revisiting and rethinking the implications of already completed and published research in a way that facilitates its interaction with comparable research in the field."  - Bernice Martin, Journal of Contemporary Religion

“Spirit on the Move begins with a clear and provocative introduction in which Elizabeth A. Pritchard details the empirical evidence of Pentecostalism’s special appeal to Black women.... This volume [is] a most welcome single-volume contribution to Pentecostal studies, gender studies, and race studies.” - Devaka Premawardhana, H-Africa, H-Net Reviews

“These essays provide a marvelous introductory text to the intersectional study of Black women and Global Pentecostalism.... [Spirit on the Move] has included Pentecostalism’s appeal to Black women across the diaspora and countries on the continent of Africa.” - Marcia Clarke, Pneuma

"This volume comes with powerfully dramatic ideas that speak to a world where Black women’s lives often still matter little. Its authors’ insights justifying Pentecostalism’s inclusion alongside gender discrimination, colonialism, racism, classism, and state failure alone make this book worthy to be read. . . . By privileging the study of Pentecostal Black women’s narratives alongside historical global forces, this anthology contributes to Black feminist studies and women and gender studies, especially African/a and Diaspora Pentecostal women’s studies." - Itohan M. Idumwonyi, Horizons

“[Spirit on the Move] could and should be used in courses on gender theory, African and African diaspora studies, and Pentecostalism.”