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The Role Of Slavery In African American Religion

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Religion, Slavery, and Knowledge Religion was used to justify slavery in the antebellum south. America is made up of immigrants who left oppression and persecution hoping for a new life, one free of “enslavement”. Upon arrival the colonist established their own religions in different part of the colonies, the Anglicans in north, the Catholics in the middle, and a cluster of Christians in the south .The newly free colonists practiced their beliefs, while they search for” workers”, leading to the enslavement of African Americans, who were even neglected of the basic idea of freedom. Ironic as it is the colonist quickly fell in to a lust for power as they enslaved a whole race with out hesitation. From the very beginning of the slave’s, life within a year of their birth, they are separated from their families “before the child has reached its twelfth …show more content…

Not being able to make their own decisions, the slaves were forced to do and follow certain beliefs. The colonist believed that all slave had to be Christians and if not the slaves were forced to convert to Christianity. The life of a slave was terrible, form horrific living conditions, to abuse both physical and mental for example “ A slave should know nothing but to obey his master” (Douglass, 41). Slaves were being brainwashed into believing that their soul purpose in life was to obey their masters. Slave masters prohibited the slaves from learning how to read and write because the slave masters knew that knowledge was key to success. Most slave owners insisted that a slave master must enforce an embargo of knowledge on slaves. The owners feared that the slaves would become aware

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