“Finley offers here a well-crafted interpretation of the religious symbols of the NOI as efforts to liberate black identity from social and symbolic confinement. . . . In addition to being an informative work on The Nation of Islam, this book is a dexterous literary ethnography, particularly affluent in insights on religious anthropology.”
~Abdessamad Belhaj, Social Identities
"In and Out of This World peels back closely guarded beliefs and practices and gives readers the context to understand them not as fringe lunacy but a logical endpoint to a diverse and robust cosmology. Dr. Finley does what the best historians do—makes us care about people while giving us the information to understand their ideas and beliefs."
~Christina Ward, Shepherd
"In and Out of This World places bodies at the heart of an engaging redescription of the Nation of Islam. . . . Emphasizing the ties between body and religion in the NOI, Finley makes a welcome contribution to the collection of scholarship that points to the role of religion in African-American racial formation and self-fashioning."
~Nick Andersen, Body and Religion
"In and Out of this World is an ambitious study and is noteworthy specifically for its creative attention to the implications of obscure [Nation of Islam] doctrines. . . . Broad readerships in the fields of religion and African American studies will find additional value in the volume’s potential ties to Afrofuturistic discourses and what role alternative religio-racial movements play therein."
~Darrius Hills, Nova Religio
"An incisive analysis of the Nation of Islam ... The book is a model of religious studies theory, method, and methodology."
~Merin Shobhana Xavier, Reading Religion
"A strength of Finley’s book is his attention to the theological content of the NOI, which all too often is ignored or even dismissed. . . . This book should transform our understanding of the NOI, placing it firmly among other ufological and esotericist movements."
~Benjamin E. Zeller, Journal of the American Academy of Religion
"In and Out of This World by Stephen Finley is an eye-opening and sharp reassessment of Nation of Islam (NOI) discourse that offers wide-ranging interventions in the study of Black religions, Islam in the Americas, and material religion. . . . The book in its entirety would be useful in advanced undergraduate or graduate courses. Whether for research or teaching, readers will find Finley’s detail-oriented project stimulating and novel."
~Max Johnson Dugan, Material Religion