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How Does Frederick Douglass Use Of Slavery As A Moral Standard Of True Religion

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Life as a slave is without a doubt a life of agony. In a Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, written by himself, Douglass’s incentive to reach a true state of freedom is in constant growth. Born in Talbot County on an unknown date, Douglass faces the brutal maltreatment and mismanagement of life. Throughout the duration of his life, he uncovers the harsh truth of slavery, meanwhile deeming it evil. Through the use of Christianity as a moral standard, Douglass distinguishes strong virtuous individuals from those who lack it. By illustrating Southern Christianity and how it fails to meet a moral standard of true religion and highlighting the hypocrisy within the Southern Christianity, Douglass furthers his assertion of slavery being …show more content…

Douglass believes that this notion of hypocrisy contradicts virtues altogether, especially within slavery. Towards the middle of his narrative, Douglass encounters adversity with one of his slave owners, Mr. Auld. After attending a Methodist camp, Mr. Auld returns as a “religious man”, yet in reality, he is far from anything religious. Douglass depicts his return as “neither [making]ma[king] him [...] humane to his slaves, nor to emancipate them. If it had any effect on his character, it made him more cruel and hateful in all his ways" (45). While this is one instance, it portrays a clear contradiction. Regarding Douglass’s religious code, one cannot be religious as well as a slave owner because it undermines the Bible's doctrine of good works. Douglass presents slave owners as “non-compliance [whom] produce much confusion. To show himself [...] in this state of mind, he prayed with more than ordinary spirit. Poor man! such was his disposition, and success at deceiving, I do verily believe that he sometimes deceived himself into the solemn belief, that he was a sincere worshipper of the most high God;” Douglass essential states that those who are slaveholder are never able to be a

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