Abstract
This essay presents a view of Black religious expression as a distinctive form of Christian conjuration. I will say more about what this means shortly. But for introductory purposes I should immediately add that this is a phenomenological presentation. By “phenomenological” I mean a description of this occurrence as it ‘gives itself in actual experience, prior to any attempt to schematize or classify it. Thus I intend to ‘bracket’ all valuational or categorical considerations, such as whether this form of conjuration represents “high” or “low” religion (a preoccupation common to investigators in comparative religion when confronted with African derived spiritualities). Similarly, I will resist—perhaps unsuccessfully—any pressure to locate this phenomenon in relation to the Christian dogma (a premature consideration whenever systematic theologians and religious thinkers seek to organize occurrences without first allowing the phenomenon to reveal its inner dynamism).