Singing Yoruba Christianity: Music, Media, and Morality

by Vicki L. Brennan

Overview

Singing the same song is a central part of the worship practice for members for the Cherubim and Seraphim Christian Church in Lagos, Nigeria. Vicki L. Brennan reveals that by singing together, church members create one spiritual mind and become unified around a shared set of values. She follows parishioners as they attend choir rehearsals, use musical media—hymn books and cassette tapes—and perform the music and rituals that connect them through religious experience. Brennan asserts that church members believe that singing together makes them part of a larger imagined social collective, one that allows them to achieve health, joy, happiness, wealth, and success in an ethical way. Brennan discovers how this particular Yoruba church articulates and embodies the moral attitudes necessary to be a good Christian in Nigeria today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780253032072
Publisher:	Indiana University Press
Publication date:	02/12/2018
Series:	African Expressive Cultures
Pages:	230
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Vicki L. Brennan is Associate Professor of Religion and Director of African Studies Program at the University of Vermont.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
Note on Language and Translation
1. Singing the Same Song
2. Onward Christian Soldiers
3. The Voice of the Spirit
4. Take Control
5. Straight to Heaven
6. In His Steps
7. Living in the Spirit
8. Show the Glory of God
Epilogue
Glossary of Yoruba Terms
Bibliography
Index

What People are Saying About This

"By looking at song and sound as critically important aspects of worship, Vicki L. Brennan provides an excellent and detailed analysis of Yoruba Christianity, its practice, and its impact on church members."

Elisha P. Renne]]>

By looking at song and sound as critically important aspects of worship, Vicki L. Brennan provides an excellent and detailed analysis of Yoruba Christianity, its practice, and its impact on church members.

Elisha P. Renne

By looking at song and sound as critically important aspects of worship, Vicki L. Brennan provides an excellent and detailed analysis of Yoruba Christianity, its practice, and its impact on church members.

Editorial Reviews

Given the ever-expanding scope of the study of the visual and expressive arts of Africa, this book offers another perspective and one that accesses the activities of one of Africa's adapted churches.

African Studies Association

Brennan's ethnography is a wonderful contribution to the scholarship on African Christianity.

Ingernational Journal of African Historical Studies

"By looking at song and sound as critically important aspects of worship, Vicki L. Brennan provides an excellent and detailed analysis of Yoruba Christianity, its practice, and its impact on church members."—Elisha P. Renne, author of Yoruba Religious Textiles

"Brennan's ethnography is a wonderful contribution to the scholarship on African Christianity."—Ingernational Journal of African Historical Studies

"Given the ever-expanding scope of the study of the visual and expressive arts of Africa, this book offers another perspective and one that accesses the activities of one of Africa's adapted churches."—African Studies Association

"Singing Yoruba Christianity will be of interest to scholars and graduate students, especially to those working at the intersection of media, Christianity, congregational song, or African studies."—Jon Snyder, Religious Studies Review

From the Publisher

Singing Yoruba Christianity will be of interest to scholars and graduate students, especially to those working at the intersection of media, Christianity, congregational song, or African studies.

Religious Studies Review - Jon Snyder