African American religious dance is not a topic previously explored in detail beyond dance that has historically existed in the church within the confines of Christianity. However the African American religious experience is not limited to Christianity and is inclusive of various religious practices extending beyond the church and thus required deeper exploration of what constitutes an African American religious experience, especially as it relates to dance. In an effort to explore this, careful exploration of the Ring Shout was necessary as a tool in discussing the evolution of the African American religious dances. Using the Ring Shout as a lens for viewing subsequent dances of the diaspora within my thesis, I acknowledge it as the first African American Religious dance with special emphasis being placed on its purpose and function as a form of communal action and way of achieving oneness by the practitioners, ultimately laying the foundation for subsequent dances. I also include interviews that I conducted with dance practitioners of different dance genres about their perceived notions and personal experiences of what makes a dance religious. I ultimately arrive at a definition of African American religious dance that is neither aligned with Christianity or any other specific religion but is instead representative of the communal identity of being Black in America and a visual movement manifestation of the wrestling of what that engenders. I ultimately assert that African American religious dance can be both inclusive of secular dance and a religious experience simultaneously.