New Thought is a spiritual philosophy with a diversified following of individuals who come from a wide variety of religious backgrounds and now find spiritual nourishment and comfort from organizations such as Unity, Science of Mind, Religious Science, and Divine Science. Regardless of the name on the building or label on the door, what ties them all together is the predominant belief in one God Universal Mind, creative intelligence, omnipresent a principle (not a being), an impersonal force that manifests itself personally, perfectly, and equally within all. For anyone at the doorsteps of New Thought seeking a personal, loving, joyful, spiritual life that resonates truth without judgment, the answers to many of their initial questions are within The New Thought Christian, a brief over-view of the key beliefs and topics that form the basis of New Thought.

Beyond Christianity draws on rich ethnographic work in a Religious Science church in Oakland, California, to illuminate the ways a group of African Americans has adapted a religion typically thought of as white to fit their needs and circumstances. This predominantly African American congregation is an anomalous phenomenon for both Religious Science and African American religious studies. It stands at the intersection of New Thought doctrine, characterized by personal empowerment teachings,and a culturally familiar liturgical style reminiscent of Black Pentecostals and Black Spiritualists. This group challenges oversimplified concepts of the Black church experience and broadens the concept of Black religion outside the boundaries of Christianity—raising questions about what it means to be an African American congregation, and about the nature of blackness itself. Beyond Christianity adds a new dimension to the scholarship on Black religion.

In this book, Glenn R. Mosley chronicles the history of the movement, including biographical sketches and the philosophies of pioneers and influential leaders linked to the movement's development and growth. These include Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, the founders of Unity; Ernest Holmes, founder of the Science of Mind; Mary Baker Eddy, founder of the Church of Christ Science; Ralph Waldo Trine, philosopher, mystic, teacher, and early mentor of New Thought; Joel Goldsmith, founder of The Infinite Way, among others.