Revolutionary Change and Democratic Religion

“This provocative book provides an opportunity to reflect on Dr. Joseph’s summaries of historical Haitians and their intellectual understandings of race, politics, religion, and their intersectionality. The book is an opportunity to engage with the role of Haitian religion as intellectual and social praxis from a variety of perspectives.”


—Charlene Désir, T.E.N. Global





“In the tradition of liberation theology, Celucien Joseph’s work, Revolutionary Change and Democratic Religion, marries the metaphysics of religion with dialectical materialist revolutionary social change to offer a utopian vision for society. Although as a metaphysical materialist I disagree with the underlying idealist premise of the work, its utopian vision assuages my opposition enough to offer my endorsement of this worthwhile text.”


—Paul C. Mocombe, West Virginia State University and The Mocombeian Foundation, Inc.





“This book offers us an interesting reflection on questions relating to freedom, human dignity, and religious traditions in Haiti. The author examines various works contributing to the development of Haitian thought and in relation to universal and human rights. He also studies different approaches to religion and secularism developed by Haitian authors (Jacques Roumain, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Laënnec Hurbon, and Jean Fils-Aimé) in a context of social change. It is an important book to offer! It is a book to discover, absolutely!”


—Lewis A. Clorméus, State University of Haiti





“Spanning from colonial Saint Domingue to twenty-first-century Haiti, Revolutionary Change and Democratic Religion re-examines the political and social thought of six influential Haitian thinkers, including Toussaint Louverture, Anténor Firmin, and Jean-Bertrand Aristide. In doing so, it provides an important reconsideration of Haitian intellectual history. As Joseph shows, Haitian thinkers have offered enduring theories of freedom, humanism, history, and social justice. They must be centered in any comprehensive intellectual history of the modern world.”


—Brandon R. Byrd, Vanderbilt University