Fleck, J: The Spirit Within

Religious life in the United States is a fluid landscape where almost half the adults have changed their religious affiliation at least once from the one in which they were raised. This empirically-based, ethnographic case study explores the question of why people switch churches or religions. This African American church has synthesized a new religious expression formed by utilizing themes available in the time and culture from which it is emerging. Grounded in the members‘ social and cultural surroundings, it presents an example of the creative response of individuals to the complexities of urban life. This study chronicles a moment in the life of an emerging religious community. The founding minister and members have revitalized religion for themselves by utilizing available diverse ideologies concerned with personal self-transformation. These combine with more traditional practices to create a religious establishment that meets their expressed spiritual needs. This ethnography would be useful to undergraduate and graduate students of culture, religion, anthropology of religion, African American studies as well as those interested in religion in today‘s complex society.