"Dew’s The Aliites: Race and Law in the Religions of Noble Drew Ali is a brilliant book brimming with sharp analysis and abundant compassion. . . . Spencer Dew has written the landmark book on the after-lives of the religious teachings of Noble Drew Ali."

Journal of the American Academy of Religion

"Dew’s book provides much more than description on these Aliite groups. He takes us into the complex workings of their theologies, ideas about law and citizenship, arguments about race and identity, and how Aliites interact with other American citizens. As such the book will find its place on many bookshelves and syllabi, especially for scholars of African American religions, religion and law, and religion and social identity. Dew’s interrogation of religion, race, and law is a model for scholars who study this intersection. Well-written, clearly argued, and full of original scholarship."

American Religion

"Aliite thought and practice should be recognized as fitting within a broader American tradition of seeking legal recognition, and thus justification, for religious practice and identity. Spencer Dew’s well-written, thoroughly researched account is a rich contribution to the literature on religion and law, while also providing thoughtful and necessary insight into the practices and beliefs of a lesser-known religious tradition."

Nova Religio

“In this remarkable book of personal and communal atonement, Dew honors what he calls ‘the intellectual aikido’ of Aliite thinkers across a hundred years of insistent devotion to the ideals of American citizenship. Placing the Aliites in the proud company of American freethinkers, Dew lays before us an alternative tradition of American democracy—of civic engagement as religion—from the founding of utopian communities to the courting of FBI surveillance. The Aliites introduces us to a fecund and vital vernacular legal imagination, one that could only be American.”

Winnifred Fallers Sullivan, Indiana University Bloomington

“A genuinely original work, The Aliites makes significant contributions to the study of religion, religion’s relationship to the law in the United States, and larger themes and patterns among Aliites. Dew’s organization of the book around elements of the Great Seal is creative and generative, foregrounding his excellent study of the centrality of the law and practices of citizenship in Aliite thought. This book offers the best interpretation currently available of many practices that contribute to outsiders’ evaluations of some of the modern groups as criminal, making it an enormously valuable work.”

Judith Weisenfeld, Princeton University