Slave Religion Essay Research Paper November 18

Slave Religion Essay, Research Paper

November 18, 1998 SLAVE RELIGIONThe “Invisible Institution” in the Antebellum SouthThe book Slave Religion: The “Invisible Institution” in the Antebellum South was written by Albert J. Raboteau and was first published in 1978 by the Oxford University Press, Inc.At the start of the Atlantic slave trade, Christianity was used as the great rationalism for enslaving Africans. The Portuguese journalist Comes Eannes De Azurara wrote: “for though their bodies were now brought into some subjection, that was a small matter in comparison of their souls, which would now possess true freedom for evermore.” (page 96) This rationalism set the stage for four hundred years of reasoning that the people of Africa were better off as slaves in the white man s world than to continue their own pitiful existence in Africa. This thin disguise for justification of slavery even extended to condemning the Africans lifestyle. Azurara continued to say that everything about the African, his clothing, housing and lack of European type knowledge was inferior. Since he could not tell the difference between good and evil the African was less than human. Azurara went so far as to compare the African s lifestyle to that of a “bestial sloth”. (page 97) In the beginning of modern slavery, the English planters were opposed to the Christianization of the slaves. Missionaries were refused access to the slaves November 18, 1998 because, although English law was imprecise on the subject, it was widely believed that if the slaves were baptized they would be immediately emancipated. (page 98) Several colonies passed legislation which made it clear that the Christianization of a person did not have any impact on his status of being slave or free. (page 99) Even at this time there were many clergy who believed the main reason the planters were against bringing the Christian religion to the slaves was their belief that slaves were less than human and about the same as any other animal on their estate. (pages 100, 101 and 108) Even after the laws were passed, there were other obstacles. One group that actively worked to Christianize the slaves was the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG). An SPG member wrote a letter to the London secretary complaining that it was most difficult to reach the slaves. The slave owners only gave the slaves one day off usually on Sunday and many of them had to work a small piece of land that day to help support themselves and their families. Other slave owners forced their slaves to work seven days a week and there was no time for religion. (page 99) Of course language was a problem, as well as the mannerisms of the slaves. It was felt that the customs of the Africans were so bizarre that they were socially and November 18, 1998 mentally incapable of grasping the ways of Christianity. But, slaves who were born in America he or she were regularly baptized and raised within the Christian religion. (page 100)Many of the SPG tried to convince slave owners that the slaves had “equal Right with other Men, to the Exercises and privileges of Religion”. (page 101) This attitude did not set well with the slave owners. They felt Christianity would ruin the slaves by making them think that if they were equal to the white person in the eyes of God, they should be equal in every other way. (page102) This, in turn, would make the slaves proud, unmanageable and may even incite them to take up arms against their masters. (page 103) The slaves reactions to the whites religious efforts toward them during the colonial period were varied. When the missionary could break the communication barrier and the slave owners’ objections, the result of his preaching was not always what he had hoped it would be. The Reverend James Blair wrote that he did not believe the majority of the converted slaves accepted Christianity for the right reasons. He felt the main reason was so they would receive more respect and that it might one day lead to freedom. (page 123) In some areas Christianity was accepted by the slave because of its similarity to the religion he had left in Africa. For example: 1. Both religions believed in a supreme being. 2. The concept of the November 18, 1998 father, son and the holy ghost was close to the African belief in multiple divinities. 3. The theory of a life after death was not foreign to the slave. 4. The idea that good shall conquer evil and the evil doer will somehow be punished are common themes in both religions. 5. They shared the view that one should admire, respect and pray to the supreme being. Although there were many differences these similarities made it easy for some to accept Christianity. (page 126-127) The Great Awakening of the 1730 s and 1740 s signified the beginning of a mass conversion to Christianity by the slaves. The revival had a great impact on both black and white people of the time. Its impact was more than just the vast numbers that converted by the end of the century, it was one of the earliest times when white ministers believed that slaves were genuine in their beliefs. It was reported on several occasions that the acceptance of Christianity by many blacks was real and not an act. (page 128-129) The number of converts to Christianity by the end of the century was astonishing. (page 150) By 1797 there were more than 12,000 black Methodists and approximately 18,000 to 19,000 black Baptists. (page 131)By the beginning of the 1800 s,