How Did African Americans Use Religion In The 18th Century

During the years of slavery in America, slave associations were of great concern to slave owners. Many members of white society saw Black religious meetings as a threat to white existence. Despite this, slaves relied heavily on the churches, as they offered a kind of therapy for them, and as the slaves retained their faith in God, they found protection within their churches. Although the slaves practiced their religion, the white community did not always accept the slaves as Christians. An unknown slave said, “The white folks would come in when the colored people would have prayer meeting, and whip every one of them. Most of them thought that when colored people were praying it was against them.” The Church has long been the center of Black communities, and it has established itself as a great source of religious enrichment and secular development for African

One difference lay in the attitude of English colonists toward Africans and Native Americans. Somehow, the English, especially those who were missionaries, were more reluctant to try to convert Africans to Christianity than they were Native Americans. Perhaps, they saw Africans as more like uncivilized savages who could only be converted

The book’s first chapter, “The Meaning of Slave Religion”, explores how the conversion of African slaves in the British colonies of North America to Christianity became an

In the reading of the “Origin of Negro Slavery” by Eric Williams he argues that there were multiple factors behind Negro slavery. The power of the Roman Catholic Church, in conspiracy with the powerful European Kingdoms of Spain, Portugal, and eventually Britain and France, allowed the practice of slavery. Since African Negroes were not of Christian faith, they were seen as infidels by the Catholic Church along with Muslims and Pagans. Williams professes that economic capitalization and the religious precept helped in sustaining slavery.

African slaves were brought to America from many tribes and they brought with them a variety of beliefs and practices. In some ways, the religion that many West Africans practiced bears a striking resemble to the practices of Christianity and Judaism. There are however several differences that make it clear that it is its own separate faith. On the plantations in America slaves were taught a “modify” version of Christianity so that they would obey their masters, and often times slaves would hold their own services. Other slaves believed in and practice what was called “conjuration” along with Christianity.

African firmly believes that there is a living communion or bond of life which makes for solidarity among members of the same family. Before Christianity, Africans did have their own system of salvation. In traditional religions, salvation can and does take the form of courage to face the reality of morality. The church was looked art as a place for political activity, a source of economic cooperation, an agency of social control, and a refuge in a hostile white world. Slaves worshiped with great enthusiasm. Religion, after all, provided a ready refuge from their daily miseries and kindled the hope that one day their sorrows might end. Planter's actually encouraged religious observances among their slaves hoping that exposure to Christian precepts might make their laborers more docile, less prone to run away, and more cooperative and efficient workers. But slaves turned biblical scriptures to their own purposes forging a theology that often emphasized the theme of liberation. It was easy for them to see, for example, in the figure of Moses a useful model for their own dreams; like the Israelites, they too were ready to cross a River Jordan into a promised land of freedom. The religious services held in the quarters provided slaves with so many positive experiences that, even as they were being exploited, they managed bravely, but perhaps not too surprisingly, to feel that they were free within themselves. In this way slaves began to achieve a degree of liberation well

“It should not be possible to treat a slave with Christian fairness and instruct him in the Christian faith as a just substitute for his pagan practices, without mollifying the relationship between master and slave. It has to be. Otherwise Christianity would not be able to spread. Otherwise the African would be deemed our equal simply because he shared out faith in one God and the Afterlife. We both know of the above to be false because of the evidence of how Africans live in their Primitive Land.” (p.111)

Slavery was not common when African men first arrived in 1619. Institution in the south happened gradually and rapidly after the major event of Bacon’s Rebellion in 1676. The transition was not expensive to create in the early colonial period. Before slavery, approximately one third to one and a half of migrates in

When Africans are transported to the new world, they were forced to convert to christianity. Some African americans became very religious, they would come together to practice their religion as shown in document D. Some African americans hated how they were being treated and what the white thought of them. In document E, it states “if we are lazy and idle, the enemies of

The First African American Baptist Church was originated in 1773 under the leadership of Reverend George Leile. In 1775 of May he was ordained as the pastor and December of 1777 the church was officially consulted as the body of believers. During the decades of slavery in America, slave association were a constant source of concern to slave owners. Religious exercises of slaves were closely watched to detect plans for escape or insurrection. African-American churches showed an air of militancy in the eyes of white Americans. Insurrections such as Nat Turner's in Virginia, born out of the religious inspiration of slaves, horrified white Americans. Understanding the potential end which could result

Europeans, after the rise of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, vindicated the enslaving of Africans by depending on religious authority because they supposedly followed God’s will (notes). According to Pope Nicholas V, the African enslavement has helped the Catholic Church (source A). In a 1455 letter, he wrote, “... A large number of these have been converted to the Catholic faith…” (source A). The quote suggests the pontiff held a positive outlook on slavery, but he only supported it for the conversion of the slaves (notes). Over 100 years later, a letter surfaced from Jesuit Brother Luis Bandaon to Father Sandoval that read he and other educated Fathers from Brazil support slavery for the purpose of more conversions and labor (source B and

And upon this ground our ….. and in short is totally repugnant to the idea of being born slaves.” Furthermore, many African Americans were very religious. After the civil war and even during it, many African Americans started their own churches separate to the churches that the whites went to. Reverend Mr. Gloucester, an African American, was a minister at a Presbyterian Church who had “friends of religion and of the poor Africans in Philadelphia subscribed liberally towards building him a church” (Document

For religious purposes there was differentiation to African Americans going to church even if enslaved. African Americans had no rights according to whites, even if free. So, for them to go to church it was a big deal. For them to go to church there must have been a white pastor. He would preach and the people would listen. Enslaved African Americans were rare to go to church because of how they had to work on the farm or for the family after the people they work for came home from their church. Education war poor. They didn’t get to learn how to read. Free slaves could learn but it would not be as much as white students. The reasoning behind slaves not learning was their work on plantations and the owners would not pay for education for an African American. Now, some slaves could learn how to read and learn through

The African Methodist Episcopal Church also known as the AME Church, represents a long history of people going from struggles to success, from embarrassment to pride, from slaves to free. It is my intention to prove that the name African Methodist Episcopal represents equality and freedom to worship God, no matter what color skin a person was blessed to be born with. The thesis is this: While both Whites and Africans believed in the worship of God, whites believed in the oppression of the Africans’ freedom to serve God in their own way, blacks defended their own right to worship by the development of their own church. According to Andrew White, a well- known author for the AME denomination, “The word African means that our church was

The history of religion in the United States comes a long way dating from the early 1600s when the first pilgrim settlers came to this country. It has been noted that these settlers were highly influenced by the Protestant faith which led to a community level of influence in this country as well. The faith of theses settlers were motivated from the New World of Europe where they practiced their religion in a peaceful environment. Later in history, it was noted that people of Spanish decent started the famous network of the Catholic missions in California. When California became a part of the United States, Catholic churches and institutes were formed. These churches and institutes were also formed in New Orleans and Louisiana.