A shout or ring shout is an ecstatic, transcendent religious ritual, first practiced by African slaves in the West Indies and the United States, in which worshipers move in a circle while shuffling and stomping their feet and clapping their hands. Despite the name, shouting aloud is not an essential part of the ritual. A more modern form, known still as a "shout" (or "praise break"), is practiced in many Black churches and non-Black Pentecostal churches to the present day.