God in Slavery

There is no doubt that despite separation of church and state, Christianity has had a profound influence on Americans throughout history. As Christian society changed, so did the economics and politics that tied with it. Therefore, it is unsurprising to find that slavery was once justified by Southern Christians, which came at a time when the Second Great Awakening was at its peak and sectionalism was beginning to rear its head in American politics. Many, such as the Southern Baptists claimed that the dark skin of many African Americans was “the Mark of Cain” (Giberson). In the Bible, there is an account for an instance where God placed a mark on Cain as a punishment for murdering his brother. Thus, the mark was dark skin, and the resulting punishment was slavery. Another justification of slavery found in the Bible includes the “Curse of Ham”, where Noah cursed his son Ham and his offspring to serve his brothers’. Many Christians interpreted this as Ham having dark skin, and as thus, his descendants were all the Africans. Because of the curse, Africans Americans would serve all the others in the world, who were presumably white. Yet another interpretation focusing on the white skin of the characters in the Bible shows how Noah and his family on the ark were white, so any black people would’ve been included as animals. And, as most whites thought at the time, animals were beneath humans, therefore there was nothing wrong with putting African Americans into forced labor. Additional justifications include the manipulation of how Jesus never specifically taught anything of how slavery, so thus he must support it.

With many slaveowners using Christian text to support their own racist agendas, it is surprising that many would allow blacks to form their own communities and churches. However, starting in the 1830s, slave owners allowed black religious gatherings (“Christianity as a Justification for Slavery”). These gatherings were closely monitored under the fear that slave revolts would be organized or started. Additionally, many slaves attended church with their white masters, as some believed that slavery would liberate slaves from their uncivilized tendencies.

These black gatherings and churches later became places of refuge for freedmen after the Civil War. These slaveries were a place of community and gathering and served as a place for spiritual or physical healing (“The Black Church”). They were places against white supremacy, violence, and sponsored many for education and other programs. However, many embittered white supremacists continued to use Christianity as a weapon against freedmen. The Klu Klux Klan was especially known for its violent protests and lynchings. Today, some even argue that lynching was even a ritual of Southern Christianity (Bouie). Southern Christians had demanded purity in the form of white women, and if any black person so much as looked at a white woman, that woman would be tainted. Thus, lynchings were justified as their Christian duty and protecting white women from the dangers of the world. As such, Christianity had large influence over the events of Reconstruction as well.

Christianity’s influence has waxed and waned. In later years, whites used eugenics and “scientific racism” to justify Jim Crow laws and violence. However, in justifying their prejudice and harmful beliefs, it becomes apparent that religion was only used as a tool to make it easy to forget that the other side is human as well. Through it all, black churches have stood strong as a place of support and a symbol against white supremacy and the diversity of America.

Sources

• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/karl-giberson-phd/the-biblical-roots-of-racism_b_7649390.html
• https://historyengine.richmond.edu/episodes/view/3535
• http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2015/02/jim_crow_south_s_lynching_of_blacks_and_christianity_the_terror_inflicted.html
• http://www.aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/black-church-brief-history