Description
Book SynopsisBeginning in the late 1970s and early 1980s,
significant numbers of Haitian immigrants began to arrive and settle in Miami.
Overcoming some of the most foreboding obstacles ever to face immigrants in
America, they, their children, and now their grandchildren, as well as more
recently arriving immigrants from Haiti, have diversified socioeconomically.
Together, they have made South Florida home to the largest population of
native-born Haitians and diasporic Haitians outside of the Caribbean and one of
the most significant Caribbean immigrant communities in the world. Religion has
played a central role in making all of this happen.
Crossing the Water and Keeping the Faith is a historical and
ethnographic study of Haitian religion in immigrant communities, based on
fieldwork in both Miami and Haiti, as well as extensive archival research.
Where many studies of Haitian religion limit themselves to one faith, Rey and
Trade Review
Crossing the Water and Keeping the Faith is a compelling sociological analysis of Haitian religion in Florida and offers important interventions into the sociology of religion and migration studies more broadly. * European Association of Social Anthropologists *
Crossing the Water and Keeping the Faithsuccessfully locates Catholic, Protestant, and Vodouist religious identities in Haitian Miami and illustrates the diversity of religious places in the diaspora. Rey and Stepicks extensive fieldwork yields vivid anecdotes of faithful persons, sensitive considerations of immigrant struggle and resilience and, to date, the most comprehensive theory of Haitian American religious lives. * Southern Spaces *
[A]n informative book that should be read by everyone interested in Haitian immigrant religion. Rey and Stepick have successfully managed to describe and untangle the intricacies of the religious practices of a major immigrant group in the United States. Moreover, they have skillfully removedthe superstitious and evil dimension that is often attached to Haitian religions * Sociology of Religion *
Crossing the Waterdemonstrates many strengths and is a valuable contribution to a nuanced and sensitive understanding of the Haitian religion experience on both sides of the water. Its rich ethnographic, historical, and demographic information, along with an apt engagement with and critique of the rational choice and microeconomic theories of religion result in a book that is at once useful to a wide swath of scholars as well as quite and enjoyable read. * Review of Religious Research *
Crossing the Water and Keeping the Faithstreatment of Haitian religion will be of value to scholars and students interested in Diaspora religions and sociology/anthropology of religion. * Religious Studies Review *
Conjoining historical method with rich ethnographical material, Rey and Stepick offer a holistic view of Haitian religion in Miami. Crossing the Water and Keeping the Faiths treatment of Haitian religion will be of value to scholars and students interested in Diaspora religions and sociology/anthropology of religion. * Religion Studies Review *
The authors are not anthropologists but rather professors of religion and of sociology, respectively, and their text does not quite read like anthropology, but I think we can concur that their portraits of three different yet linked Haitian religions, in Haiti and translocally, unified by a religious collusio are valuable to anthropology and suggest paths of research and analysis for the future. -- Jack David Eller * Anthropology Review Database *
A monumental scholarly achievement by two excellent scholars of the three main religions in Haiti and its diaspora: Catholicism, Protestantism, and Vodou. Because of its breadthcovering all three religions of Haitiand the length of time it coversdecadesno one will be able to teach or write about Haitian and/or Caribbean religion without citing this work. -- Margarita A. Mooney,University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
This outstanding book is the first comprehensive overview of the rise and existing triangular relations between the Roman Catholic, Protestant and Vodou communities among Haitians in Miami, Florida. The authors let their subjects speak and reveal the importance these religious traditions play in Haitians transnational experiences. This volume should be of interest to a general readership and is especially of vital importance to anthropologists, sociologists, theologians and historians of American religion. -- Leslie Desmangles,Trinity College
Table of Contents
ContentsForeword ixArchbishop Thomas WenskiAcknowledgments xiiiIntroduction: Haitian Religion in Miami 11 The Haitian Catholic Church in Miami: When the Saints Go Sailing In 332 Immigrant Faith and Class Distinctions: Haitian Catholics beyond Little Haiti 593 Feting Haiti's Patron Saint in Little Haiti: The Feast of OurLady of Perpetual Help 834 Vodou in the Magic City: Serving the Spirits across the Sea 1135 Storefront and Transnational Protestantism in Little Haiti: Harvesting the Gospel in the Haitian Church of the Open Door 151Conclusion: Beasts, Gods, and TransnationalTransubstantiation 189Appendices 203Notes 227Bibliography 237Index 253About the Authors 266
