Were the Spirits Silent or Silenced? A Study of Literature on Black Spiritualism in the United States

“Were the Spirits Silent or Silenced?” argues for the return of the spirits to the study of Black Spiritualism. It proposes that secular progress narratives (which emphasize political liberation above other spiritual outcomes) have so dominated the field of Religious Studies that studies of Black Spiritualism are bereft of the spirits themselves. This analysis of extant literature recontextualizes and retheorizes the current relationship of the field to the gods, the spirits, and other more-than-human entities. Religion, particularly Black Spiritualism, can be about power while also not necessarily being about empowerment. It is about the power to heal (or to harm) and the power to communicate with those that have passed on. It is rarely about personal empowerment or an exercise in someone “finding their voice.” This paper explores the methodological implications of recognizing our “braided-ness” with the more-than-human while envisioning a future for the study of spirits.