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Literature and Theology Advance Access originally published online on July 24, 2008
Literature and Theology 2008 22(4):436-457; doi:10.1093/litthe/frn022
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© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press 2008; all rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Pentecostalism and all that Jazz: Tracing James Baldwin's Religion

Douglas Field

English Department, Flaxman Building, Staffordshire University, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 2DE, UK

d.j.field{at}staffs.ac.uk


  Abstract

This essay considers the theme of religion in the work of James Baldwin. Although it is well-documented that Baldwin was a child preacher, and although much of his work draws on this experience, there is little sustained criticism on the impact of religion on his life and work and few scholars have explored the impact of the writer's Pentecostal background. This article maintains that Baldwin's Pentecostal background is central to an understanding of his complicated views on Christianity, illuminating the connections in his work between music and the church. The article concludes by exploring Baldwin's concept of love, arguing that this troublesome concept is central to the author's exploration of religion and community.


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