Diana DeGroat Brown explores the history and development of the syncretistic Brazilian religion of Umbanda, from its beginnings in Rio de Janeiro during the 1920’s to the late 1970s, examining its changing spectrum of practices, followers, and beliefs. The defining features are an eclectic blend of Catholic belief and practice, Kardecism, Afro-Brazilian practices, aspects of Buddhism and Hinduism, and currents of mysticism.

The author describes the dramatic changes in ritual forms and geographic distribution, and the exponential increase in followers that have characterized the development of this religion. It has been transformed from extreme marginality to legitimacy and social acceptance. Emerging during a period of rapid urban growth, it is one of the few contemporary instances of endogenous religious formation in Latin America. In a new afterword Brown discusses the continued development and growth of Umbanda.