Stephen D. Glazier (born Mystic, Connecticut) is an American
anthropologist who specializes in
comparative religion
Comparative religion is the branch of the study of religions with the systematic comparison of the doctrines and practices, themes and impacts (including migration) of the world's religions. In general the comparative study of religion yie ...
. Currently, he is a Senior Research Anthropologist at the
Human Relations Area Files
The Human Relations Area Files, Inc. (HRAF), located in New Haven, Connecticut, US, is an international nonprofit membership organization with over 500 member institutions in more than 20 countries. A financially autonomous research agency based a ...
at
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
. Since 1976, Glazier has conducted ethnographic fieldwork on the Caribbean island of
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...
focusing on the
Spiritual Baptists,
Orisa
Orishas (singular: orisha) are spirits that play a key role in the Yoruba religion of West Africa and several religions of the African diaspora that derive from it, such as Cuban, Dominican and Puerto Rican Santería and Brazilian Candomblé. Th ...
, and
Rastafari. He also publishes on Caribbean archaeology and prehistory. Glazier cataloged Irving Rouse's St. Joseph (Trinidad) and Mayo (Trinidad) collections for the
Peabody Museum of Natural History
The Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University is among the oldest, largest, and most prolific university natural history museums in the world. It was founded by the philanthropist George Peabody in 1866 at the behest of his nephew Oth ...
. In 2017, Glazier retired as professor of anthropology and Graduate Faculty Fellow at the
University of Nebraska
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...
, where he taught classes in general (four-field) anthropology, race and minority relations, and a graduate seminar on the anthropology of belief systems.
Glazier began graduate studies in anthropology at
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
studying under Martin G. Silverman, Benjamin Ray, Hildred Geertz, Alfonso Ortiz, and Vincent Crapanzano. In 1974, he earned an M.Div. from
Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a private school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1812 under the auspices of Archibald Alexander, the General Assembly of t ...
. His M. Div. thesis, "Schizophrenic Speech: A Typology," – directed by James Loder, Vincent Crapanzano, and Hildred Geertz – was based on experiences as an Assistant Chaplain at New Jersey Neuro Psychiatric Institute. Glazier earned an MA (1976) and a Ph.D. (1981) in Anthropology from the
University of Connecticut
The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...
. His dissertation advisors were Seth Leacock, Dennison J. Nash, and Ronald M. Wintrob. In 2021, he earned an S.T.M. degree from
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
.
Glazier served as book review editor of the journal ''
Anthropology of Consciousness
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavio ...
'' and as a member of the editorial board of the ''Journal of the Virgin Island Archaeological Society.'' He is currently a member of the editorial advisory boards of the journals ''
Open Theology'' and
PentecoStudies He served two terms as president of the
Society for the Anthropology of Consciousness
The American Anthropological Association (AAA) is an organization of scholars and practitioners in the field of anthropology. With 10,000 members, the association, based in Arlington, Virginia, includes archaeologists, cultural anthropologists, ...
. In addition, he served as vice president and secretary of the ''Society for the Anthropology of Religion''
[http://sar.americananthro.org] and as a council member and as secretary of the
Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
The Society for the Scientific Study of Religion (founded in 1949) was formed to advance research in the social scientific perspective on religious institutions and experiences. The ''Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion'' is published by ...
.
Select bibliography
Books
*Stephen D. Glazier and Charles A. Flowerday, editors. 2003. ''Selected Readings in the Anthropology of Religion: Theoretical and Methodological Essays.'' Westport, CT: Praeger.
*Andrew S. Buckser and Stephen D. Glazier, editors. 2003. ''The Anthropology of Religious Conversion.'' Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.
*Stephen D. Glazier, general editor. 2001. ''The Encyclopedia of African and African American Religions'' New York and London: Routledge.
*Stephen D. Glazier, editor. 1999. ''Anthropology of Religion: A Handbook''. Westport, CT: Praeger.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 1991. ''Marchin' the Pilgrims Home: A Study of Spiritual Baptists of Trinidad''. Salem, WI: Sheffield Publishing
*Stephen D. Glazier, editor. 1985. ''Caribbean Ethnicity Revisited.'' New York and London: Gordon and Breach.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 1984. "Organizacion social y economica de los Baptistas Espirituales con atencion especial a sus misiones en Venezuela." ''Revista Montalban'' 15: 5–41.
*Stephen D. Glazier, editor. 1980. ''Perspectives on Pentecostalism: Case Studies from the Caribbean and Latin America.'' Lanham, MD: University Press of America
STM Thesis
*Stephen D. Glazier. 2021. "Jonathan Edwards and Isaac Backus on Freedom of the Will." Unpublished STM Thesis, Yale University. Advisors: Kenneth P. Minkema, Harry S. Stout, and Jennifer A. Herdt. This thesis examined the language of Jonathan Edwards's ''Freedom of the Will'' (1754) and its influence (or lack of influence) on Isaac Backus (1724-1806). Its focus was on Edwards's and Backus's ideas about Liberty and Freedom from the perspective provided by Kenneth Burke in ''The Rhetoric of Religion'' and ''A Grammar of Motives.''
Music recording
*Stephen D. Glazier 1980
''Spiritual Baptist Music of Trinidad; Recorded in Trinidad by Stephen D. Glazier.''FE 4234. New York: Folkways Record and Service Corp. (Re-issued in 1991 by The Smithsonian Institution).
Conference Papers
*Stephen D. Glazier. 2021."The Ecology of Fear: Pequots and Puritans in 1636." American Anthropological Association, Baltimore.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 2022. "Barefoot Pilgrims in Cyberspace: Lough Derg Pilgrimage from Cave, to Island, to Internet."
Articles, Chapters, Reviews
*Stephen D. Glazier, "Vincent Crapanzano" ''Oxford Bibliographies in Anthropology.'' John L. Jackson, ed. New York: Oxford University Press, forthcoming.
*Stephen D. Glazier. in press. "Review of: "Experiments with Power: Obeah and the Re-Making of Religion in Trinidad, by J. Brent Crosson; Obeah, Orisa & Religious identity in Trinidad, vol. I ,by Tracey E. Hucks; Obeah, Orisa & Religious Identity in Trinidad, vol. II, by Dianne M. Stewart." ''Religion.''
*Stephen D. Glazier. in press. "Orisas in Diaspora." ''Handbook of the Yoruba''. Toyin Falola and Olusegun Olopade, editors. New York and London: Palgrave.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 2023. "Making Caribbean Religious Musics." ''Oxford Handbook of Caribbean Religions.'' Michelle Gonzalez Maldonado, editor. New York: Oxford University Press. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.12299.44320
*Stephen D. Glazier. 2021. "Review of: 'Obeah, Race and Racism: Caribbean Witchcraft in the English Imagination,' by Eugenia O'Neal." ''Choice'' 58 (6) hoiceconnect.org/review/magprint/220701*Stephen D. Glazier. 2021
"Isaac Backus"
In Isaac Backus Archives at Special Collections, Yale Divinity School, Box 9, 1771-1774, May 10, 2021. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.24190.92487
*Stephen D. Glazier. 2021. "Passages and Afterworlds: Anthropological Perspectives on Death in the Caribbean, edited by Maarit Forde and Yanique Hume." ''Religion'' 51(1):144-47. doi.org/10.1080/0048721X.2020.1826873
*Stephen D. Glazier. 2020
"Edith L. B. Turner."
In ''Oxford Bibliographies in Anthropology.'' John L. Jackson, ed. New York: Oxford University Press.
*Stephen D. Glazier and Carol R. Ember. 2018
"Religion"
in C. R. Ember, editor and compiler. ''Explaining Human Culture.'' New Haven, CT: Human Relations Area Files
*Stephen D. Glazier. 2018. "From Dissection to Discernment: Edie Turner, Victor Turner and Jonathan Edwards on the Ontological Status of Spirits." ''The Intellectual Legacy of Victor and Edith Turner.'' Frank A. Salamone and Marjorie M. Snipes, editors. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, pp. 35–53.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 2018. "An Ethnography of a Vodu Shrine in Southern Togo: Of Spirit, Slave and Sea," by Eric J. Montgomery and Christian N. Vannier. ''Religion'' 48(4): 734–737.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 2018. "Edith L. B. Turner (1921–2016)." ''American Anthropologist'' 120 (1): 186–189.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 2017
"World Rastafarianism and Challenges to the Status of the Rasta Woman."
Chapter 12. ''Religious Encounters in Transcultural Society.'' David W. Kim, editor. Lanham. MD: Lexington Books, pp 223–238.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 2017. "Dreams and Dream Interpretations." ''Culture and Customs of the Yoruba.'' edited by Toyin Falola and Akintunder Akinyemi. Austin, TX and Ibadan, Nigeria: Pan-African University Press, pp. 379–387.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 2016
"Foreword to the Chase."
''Chasing Religion in the Caribbean: Ethnographic Journeys from Antigua to Trinidad,'' by Peter J. Marina. New York and London: Palgrave, pp. vii-xv
*Stephen D. Glazier. 2016. "Yoruba Color Symbolism" in ''The Encyclopedia of the Yoruba.'' Toyin Falola and A. Akinyemi, editors. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, pp. 71–72.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 2015. "Pilgrimages in the Caribbean: A Comparison of Cases from Haiti and Trinidad’. In ''Religion, Pilgrimage, and Tourism,'' edited by Alex Norman, Carole M. Cusack. New York and London: Routledge.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 2015. "Conduits, Barriers, and Interaction Spheres: Re-Thinking the Island of Trinidad in the Guiana Cultural Area." ''Proceedings of the 25th International Congress for Caribbean Archaeology.'' Laura Del Olmo, editor. San Juan, Puerto Rico: Instituto de Cultura Puertorriguena, pp. 379–394
*Noel Titus and Stephen D. Glazier. 2014. "Grenada" ''Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices.'' Thomas Riggs, editor. Gale Research, vol. 3, pp. 13–18.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 2013. "Sango Healers and Healing in the Caribbean." Chapter 7 in ''Caribbean Healing Traditions: Implications for Health and Mental Health.'' Patsy Sutherland. Roy Moodley, and Barry Chavannes editors. New York and London: Routledge. pp. 89–100.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 2013. "Rastafarianism" in ''Encyclopedia of Race and Racism.'' 2nd edition. Patrick L. Mason, editor. New York: Macmillan Reference, pp. 472–474.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 2012. "If ‘Old Heads’ Could Talk." ''Anthropologica'' 54 (2): 199-209.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 2012. "Religious Developments in the Caribbean Between 1865 and 1945" in ''The Cambridge History of Religions in America.'' Vol. II: Religions in America, 1790–1945. Stephen J. Stein, editor. New York and London: Cambridge University Press, pp. 727–748.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 2011. "Anthropology and Religious Belief" in ''The Anthropology of Religion: Critical Concepts in Religious Studies.'' Phillips Stevens Jr, and Denice J. Szafran, editors. New York and London: Routledge, volume I, pp. 32–37.
*Stephen D. Glazier and Alfredo Figueredo. 2011. "Review of 'Caciques and cemí idols: the web spun by Taíno rulers between Hispaniola and Puerto Rico – By José R. Oliver'". ''Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute '' 17: 414-415. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9655.2011.01698_16.x
*Stephen D. Glazier. 2011. "Aruba" (pp. 61–63), "Bahamas" (pp. 107–108), "Barbados" (pp. 117–118), "Jamaica" (pp. 613–614), and "Martinique" (II, pp. 749–750, with C. M. Dietrich) in ''Encyclopedia of Global Religion.'' Mark Jurgensmeyer and Wade Clark Roof, editors. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Reference.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 2010. "Health and Illness" (with Mary J. Hallin) in ''21st Century Anthropology,'' H. James Birx, editor. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Reference, volume 2, pp. 925–935.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 2009. "Understanding Caribbean Religions" (with Leslie G. Desmangles and Joseph M. Murphy). Chapter 10 in ''Understanding the Contemporary Caribbean.'' 2nd edition. Richard S. Hillman and Thomas J. D'Agostino, editors. Boulder, CO and London: Lynne Rienner, pp. 289–338.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 2009. "African Diaspora, Bible in the Music of" (pp. 512–516) in ''Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception,'' edited by Hermann Spleckemann, Choon Leong Seow, Hans-Joseph Klauck, Paul Mendes-Flohr, Bernard McGinn, and Eric Ziolkoeski. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
*Stephen D. Glazier. 2009. "Wither Sango?: An Inquiry into Sango's 'Authenticity' and Prominence in the Caribbean." in ''Sango in Africa and the African Diaspora.'' Joel E. Tishken, Toyin Falola, and A. Akinyemi, editors. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, pp. 233–247.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 2009. "The Anthropological Study of Religion" (pp. 24–39) in ''The World’s Religions: Continuities and Transformations.'' Peter B. Clarke and Peter Beyer, editors. New York and London: Routledge, pp. 24–39.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 2008."Demanding Spirits and Reluctant Devotees: Belief and Unbelief in the Trinidadian Orisa Movement." ''Social Analysis'' 52 (1): 19–38.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 2006. "Being and Becoming a Rastafarian: Notes on the Anthropology of Religious Conversion." in ''Rastafari: A Universal Philosophy for the Third Millennium.'' Werner Zips, editor. Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle Publishers, pp. 256–281.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 2005. "Mystic, Connecticut" (p. 1486); "Free Will Baptists" (pp. 1305–1306); "Paugussets" (pp. 392–393); and "Camp Meeting Grounds" (p. 1297) in ''The Encyclopedia of New England.'' David A. Watters and Burt Feintuch, editors. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press
*Stephen D. Glazier. 2005. "Caribbean Religions: Pre-Columbian" (volume III, pp. 1426–1432) and "Caribbean Religions: History of Study" (volume XV, pp. 10023–10030). in ''The Encyclopedia of Religion.'' Second Edition. Lindsay Jones, general editor. New York: Macmillan Reference.
* Stephen D. Glazier. 2003. "Limin' wid Jah: Spiritual Baptists Who Become Rastafarians and Then Become Spiritual Baptists Again." ''The Anthropology of Religious Conversion.'' Andrew Buckser and Stephen D. Glazier, editors. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, pp. 149–170.
* Stephen D. Glazier. 1999. Three entries: "Benjamin W. Arnett;" "John Mifflin Brown", and "William Wallace Fenn." ''American National Biography.'' J. A. Garraty and M. C. Carnes, editors. New York: Oxford University Press.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 1998. Review of "Explorations in Anthropology and Theology, edited by Frank A. Salamone and Walter R. Adams." ''American Anthropologist'' 100 (2): 547-548.
* Stephen D. Glazier. 1997. "Associate Editor's Foreword." ''Migrants, Regional Cultures, and Latin American Cities.'' Edited by Teofilo Altamirano and Lane Ryo Hirabayashi. Society for Latin American Anthropology Publication Series #13. Washington, D. C.: American Anthropological Association.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 1996. "Changes in the Spiritual Baptist Religion, 1976-1990." ''Ay BoBo: Afro-Caribbean Cults: Identity and Resistance. Teil 1: Kulte.'' Manfred Kremser, editor. Wien: Institut fur Volkerkunde der Universitat Wien, pp. 107–114.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 1995." New Religions among Afro-Americans (Caribbean and South America)", and "New Religions: Afro-Suriname." ''HarperCollins Dictionary of Religion.'' J. Z. Smith, general editor. San Francisco: HarperCollins
*Stephen D. Glazier. 1995. "New Religious Movements in the Caribbean: Identity and Resistance." ''Born Out of Resistance: Caribbean Cultural Creativity as a Response to European Expansion.'' Wim Hoogbergen, editor. Utrecht: University of Utrecht/ ISOR Press, pp. 253–262.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 1993. "Responding to the Anthropologist: When the Spiritual Baptists of Trinidad Read What I Write About Them." ''When They Read What We Write: The Politics of Ethnography.'' Caroline B. Brettell, editor. New York: Bergin and Garvey, pp. 37–48.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 1992. "Slavery and Social Death by Orlando Patterson;" and "The Content of Our Character, by Shelby Steele." ''Masterpieces in African-American Literature.'' Frank N. Magill, editor. New York: HarperCollins.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 1991. "Impressions of Aboriginal Technology: The Case of the Caribbean Canoe." ''Proceedings of the 13th International Congress of Caribbean Archaeology.'' E. N. Ayubi and Jay Haviser, editors. Willemstad, Curaçao: Instituto di Arkeologia i Antropologia di Antia Ulandes, pp. 149–161.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 1988. "The Religious Mosaic: Playful Celebration in Trinidadian Shango." ''Play and Culture'' 1: 216–235.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 1987. "Caribbean Religions: Pre-Columbian." ''The Encyclopedia of Religion,'' volume III. Mircea Eliade, editor. New York: Free Press/Macmillan, pp. 81–90.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 1986. "Heterodoxy and Heteropraxy in the Spiritual Baptist Faith.'' Revista/Review Interamericana'' 16 (Spring-Winter): 47-66.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 1985. "Mourning in the Afro-Baptist Tradition: A Comparative Study of Religion in the American South and Trinidad." ''Southern Quarterly'' 23: 141-156.
*Stephen D. Glazier (with Leonard Barrett, Merrill Singer, and George Eaton Simpson). 1985. "Religion and Social Justice: Caribbean Perspectives." ''Phylon'' 46 (2): 283–299.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 1985. "Syncretism and Separation: Ritual Change in an Afro-Caribbean Faith." ''Journal of American Folklore'' 98 (387): 49–62.
* Stephen D. Glazier. 1984. "Review of: Better Felt Than Said: The Holiness Pentecostal Experience in Southern Appalachia, by Troy Abell." ''American Anthropologist'' 86: 457.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 1982. "The St. Joseph's and Mayo Collections from Trinidad, West Indies." ''Florida Anthropologist'' 35 (2): 208-215.
*Alfredo E. Figueredo and Stephen D. Glazier. 1982. "Spatial Behavior, Ethnicity and Social Organization in the Prehistory of Trinidad." ''Journal de la Societe des Americanistes''(Paris) 68: 33–40.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 1980. "Review of: Satan's Power: A Deviant Psychotherapy Cult, by William S. Bainbridge." ''American Anthropologist'' 82: 647-648.
* Stephen D. Glazier. 1980. "The Boye in lsland-Carib Culture." ''La antropologia americanista en al actualidad: Homenaje al Raphael Girard.'' vol. 2, Mexico City: Editores Mexicanas Unidos, pp. 34–46.
Committees
*Stephen D. Glazier. 2012. Member/Acting Chair, Ph.D. dissertation defense committee, Mary J. Hallin, Geography and Indigenous Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln: "Collaboration between Traditional and Biomedical Practitioners in the Bui Division, Cameroon. "Committee: Patricia Draper, Robert Hitchcock, Stephen D. Glazier, Doug Amedeo.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 2012. Member, Ph. D. dissertation defense committee, Christopher R. H. Garneau, Sociology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln: "Perceived Stigma and Stigma Management of Midwest Seculars."
*Stephen D. Glazier. 2009. Outside member, Ph.D. dissertation committee: Tamasin Ramsay, Monash University, Victoria, Australia: "Custodians of Purity: An Ethnography of the Brahman Kumaris."
*Stephen D. Glazier. 2011. Chair, MA thesis committee, Anthropology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Don Arp Jr: "The Aputu: An Examination and Analysis of a War Club Form Distinctive to the Guianas."
*Stephen D. Glazier. 2014. Member, MA thesis committee, Anthropology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln: "Emerging from the Shadows: Civil War, Human Rights, and Peace-building among Peasants and Indigenous Peoples in Colombia and Peru in the Late 20th and Early 21st Centuries," by Charles A. Flowerday. Martha McCollough, chair.
*Stephen D. Glazier. 2005. Member, MA thesis committee, Anthropology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Gwendolyn K. Meister: "A Passion for the Work: A Study of Decision-Making and Public Folklorists' Careers." Patricia Draper, chair.
References
External links
Glazier CV
Human Relations Area Files
Anthropology of Belief and Belief Systems
Yale University staff page
has a more extensive list of his publications
* Yale Thesis, Jonathan Edwards and Isaac Backus on Freedom of the Wi
* Glazier on 1960 Mystic Fire
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glazier, Stephen D.
American anthropologists
Anthropologists of religion
Researchers of new religious movements and cults
Religion academics
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people