The role of Christianity in American slavery

Throughout the history of American slavery, Christianity had been an effective tool in supporting slavery, yet also a great resource for the abolition movements.  Christian churches favored and supported slavery and slaveholders.  According to Frederick Douglass, "the church of this country is not only indifferent to the wrongs of the slave, it actually takes sides with the oppressors, [and] has made itself the bulwark of American slavery, and the shield of American slave hunters" (Mathissen 287). However, with the exception of some inescapably Christian individuals, the abolition was also carried out through Christian motives that slavery is a sin.

Christianity was the ultimate support that the slaveholders relied on to treat slavery as a system approved by God, "that the relation of master and slave is ordained of God [and] to send back an escaped bondman to his master is clearly the duty of all the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ" (287). Christianity hypocritically supported its doctrine by associating slavery with the Bible, and with its system sustained by favoring the rich to the poor; Christianity had given the slaveholders the religious right to maintain slavery. Though it sounds as much like a "horrible blasphemy", the tool had been used to prolong the live of slavery in the American society. Churches system apparently had the most judicial authority to both enact and overthrow slavery with the power it had over the society. The majority worshiped its legislative order; therefore, its administrative and executive function could create big influences on social matters. With that saying, "The American church is guilty, when viewed in connection with what it is doing to uphold slavery; but it is superlatively guilty when viewed in connection with its ability to abolish slavery" (288). 

In the article "The abolitionists" by Tim Stafford, a large portion of Christian derivers had become abolitionists by Christian motives, using Christian means and vocabulary. Their philosophy was to favor "moral suasion" than force. They wanted to convince the church that slavery is a sin to God and therefore, should not be supported by the church. They had faced opposition and were hated across the America, especially in the South, the originated land of slavery. They brought their preaching across the nation to battle for the churches' support. In "The Bible Argument", Theodore Weld "attempted to prove that slavery from the Bible was different in kind than American slavery"; and if slavery was supported by the church because the southerners could prove that God accepted slavery, the argument would prove slavery was sin by demonstrating that "the Bible condemned American slavery, rather than sanctioned it. All the attempts were to gain the church support to one side. That is to prove the important role the church had taken in the revolution of both slavery and anti-slavery.

Even though the anti-slavery were later successful through military coercion rather than repentance and love as in the preaching of those former abolitionists before Lincoln time. It was stated, "without the abolitionists' thirty years of preaching, slavery would never have become the issue that Lincoln had to face" (Stafford). With their acknowledgement of the causes and religious motives of the issue, the act of the pioneer abolitionists had changed the course of anti-slavery in the most religious aspect with both success and failure.

 

Source: Stafford, Tim, "The Abolitionists", Christian History; 1992, Vol. 11 Issue 1, p21, 5p, 6 bw

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