Mysticism and Social Change

The Author: Alton B. Pollard III is an assistant professor of Religion at Wake Forest University. He is a graduate of Fisk University and Harvard Divinity School, and received his Ph.D. from Duke University. Dr. Pollard has published widely in the areas of religion and culture and is an associate editor of Black Sacred Music: A Journal of Theomusicology.

«'Mysticism and Social Change' articulates Thurman's legacy in terms that promise to give needed direction to scholars, pastors, activists and believers who seek positive engagement in the African-American quest for dignity and well-being.» (Cheryl J. Sanders, Howard University)«In a probing analysis and documentation of the sources of mysticism and of its sociological misperceptions, Alton Pollard seeks to rescue Thurman and contemporary mystics in general from the unmerited presumption of social innocuousness.» (C. Eric Lincoln, Duke University)«'Mysticism and Social Change' is not only a creative interpretation of Howard Thurman's significance, it also offers an innovative methodology for examining biography, race relations, and the social witness of the church.» (Luther E. Smith, Jr., Emory University)

• Contents: Mysticism as Activism/The Making of a Mystic - Social Passages and Mystic Passages/Mysticism and Social Change - Thurman, Fellowship Church, and the Social Order/Activism and Beyond/Appendix - Sociological Perspectives.