A Fire in the Bones cover

A Fire in the Bones

by Albert J. Raboteau

A Fire in the Bones is a fascinating and moving collection of essays from one of America's most prominent scholars of religious history. In his first book since the classic, Slave Religion, Albert Raboteau shows how the active faith of African-Americans shaped their religious institutions and forged the struggle for social justice throughout their history. Covering many traditions - Baptist revivals, the AME Church, Black Catholics, African orisa religions - Raboteau reveals the pervasive faith of African-Americans that God was an actor in their history. This faith has enabled them to challenge America's self-image as "The Promised Land" and to fight the institutions of racism.

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Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?