Brian L. Johnson's remarkable biography of W.E.B. Du Bois describes the evolution of religious views from Du Bois's birth until his resignation as editor of
Crisis
magazine in 1934.
W.E.B. Du Bois: Toward Agnosticism, 1868-1934
traces Du Bois's mounting skepticism through his earliest church experiences to his sociological training in Berlin culminating with his writings in
magazine. Johnson argues that despite Du Bois's frequent use of Protestant religious rhetoric, the mature Du Bois was a critic of African American religious organizations and their leaders, and a scientifically oriented agnostic who did not adhere to any religious orthodoxy.