Jesus in the World of the Spirits: Caribbean <i>Evangélico</i> Christianity and Afro-Caribbean Religions (<i>Lukumí</i> and <i>Espiritismo Caribeño</i>)

The Caribbean world of the spirits is the religious milieu where Charismatic Caribbean Evangelicals, Lukumí ( Santería) and Espiritistas (Caribbean Spiritist) practitioners experience an interplay of meanings ranging from negotiations to ambiguous engagement. Yet, the legacy of colonial Caribbean Christianity provides no theological empathy or methodology to address the interplay experiences of these traditions, dismissing the living engagement of followers of these faiths. In the lived experience of Christians and followers of these Caribbean religious traditions, Jesus Christ flows across religious boundaries, challenging assumptions about Jesus Christ's work uniquely in and among Christian communities. Based on years of grassroots research, conversations and dialogue, this essay offers a description and guiding theological questions to address the importance of the Caribbean world of the spirits as well as a rethinking for the role of Jesus Christ grounded in the question, ‘What does Jesus do in the world of the spirits’, rather than the inherited perennial question, ‘Who is Jesus Christ?’ 1