This book is about secrecy in religion and the process by which traditionally secretive religions become public, taking as its case the Afro‐Brazilian religion of Candomblé. The book argues that Candomblé's entrance to the national public sphere of Brazil entails a two‐part process: (1) Practitioners become active participants in the dissemination of knowledge about the religion, including protected knowledge or secrets, and thus choose to enter the public sphere; and (2) the metropole turns toward indigenous religions like Candomblé as a source of exotic fascination and a set of religious pra ... More

This book is about secrecy in religion and the process by which traditionally secretive religions become public, taking as its case the Afro‐Brazilian religion of Candomblé. The book argues that Candomblé's entrance to the national public sphere of Brazil entails a two‐part process: (1) Practitioners become active participants in the dissemination of knowledge about the religion, including protected knowledge or secrets, and thus choose to enter the public sphere; and (2) the metropole turns toward indigenous religions like Candomblé as a source of exotic fascination and a set of religious practices from which outsiders may selectively appropriate. The result is religion innovation that nonetheless evokes strident discourses of traditional continuity – here in the form of claims to authenticity, depth, and secret knowledge.