Afro-Christian religion and healing in southern Africa /

It is notoriously difficult to maintain uniformity in format and quality in publishing conference proceedings; this volume is no exception. Papers range from the highly specialized to "a preliminary analysis," and in length from Oosthuizen's 50-page treatise on baptism and healing in African Independent Churches to a number of papers each only 5 to 9 pages. However, the significance of this volume lies not in the total content but in the fact that South African anthropologists, psychiatrists, psychologists, and theologians could talk with rather than at each other about pastoral theology and healing in the work of independent churches. The volume is divided into four sections: "Traditional Afro-Christian Holistic Healing Procedures in Southern Africa"; "Healing in African Independent Churches"; "Zionist Healing and other Independent Church Procedures"; and "African Healing and Western Therapy." Truly anomalous, at the end of this interesting cross-disciplinary collection is a 20-year-old paper by F.B. Welbourn. Nevertheless, the volume will be used in graduate and research studies by students of anthropology, psychiatry, psychology, and religion. -B. M. Du Toit, University of Florida