1. The Promise of Heaven
The most important aspect of Christianity for the enslaved was the promise of heaven — a promise made by plantation owners. This idea preached the notion that for all the suffering that is done in the physical world, your soul will be preserved and you will experience a hardship-free spiritual life, according to Slave Resistance, A Caribbean Study. What this did for enslaved Black people was give them hope for the future. Converted enslaved people’s belief in heaven allowed some to passively resist their plantation owners and focus on the afterlife. With that belief, all of the beatings and lashings meant nothing because in heaven the enslaved person would be rewarded and the master would be punished.
The most important aspect of Christianity for the enslaved was the promise of heaven — a promise made by plantation owners. This idea preached the notion that for all the suffering that is done in the physical world, your soul will be preserved and you will experience a hardship-free spiritual life, according to Slave Resistance, A Caribbean Study. What this did for enslaved Black people was give them hope for the future. Converted enslaved people’s belief in heaven allowed some to passively resist their plantation owners and focus on the afterlife. With that belief, all of the beatings and lashings meant nothing because in heaven the enslaved person would be rewarded and the master would be punished.
2. Constant WorkThe vigorous, constant plantation work assigned by owners left the enslaved people hardly any time for themselves, and that included religious activities,
3 Blocked Communication
Plantation owners separated the enslaved people who spoke the same tribal language so they could not worship together and could be taught Christianity at the same time, according to an article titled The Inconceivable State of African-American Christianity on christianitytoday.com.
Plantation owners separated the enslaved people who spoke the same tribal language so they could not worship together and could be taught Christianity at the same time, according to an article titled The Inconceivable State of African-American Christianity on christianitytoday.com.
4 Separated Families
Moving family members from one another broke down the spirit of the enslaved, as they believed wholeheartedly in worshiping together, according to academia.edu in a study on the role of religion in Africa. With their family units broken, their African beliefs were broken, too, making them more willing to accepting another religion.
Moving family members from one another broke down the spirit of the enslaved, as they believed wholeheartedly in worshiping together, according to academia.edu in a study on the role of religion in Africa. With their family units broken, their African beliefs were broken, too, making them more willing to accepting another religion.
5. Demonstration of Power
When Africans were captured and brought to America by the Europeans, they often attributed the Europeans’ power to the power of the Europeans’ God. Therefore, it was often easy for some enslaved Africans to begin to worship the victorious Christian God in place of their own gods
When Africans were captured and brought to America by the Europeans, they often attributed the Europeans’ power to the power of the Europeans’ God. Therefore, it was often easy for some enslaved Africans to begin to worship the victorious Christian God in place of their own gods
6. Social Control
In the Caribbean colonies of Cuba and Saint-Domingue, religion was taught to enslaved Africans as a means of social control more than as a means to edify their souls, according to an article titled SlaveReligion in Central and South America.
In the Caribbean colonies of Cuba and Saint-Domingue, religion was taught to enslaved Africans as a means of social control more than as a means to edify their souls, according to an article titled SlaveReligion in Central and South America.
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| Native Americans 2.9 million exist today, Down from 7-10 million before the White man land in the Americas in the 1400's . |
7. Catholics’ Conversions
Often, African practices were brought into Christianity in new and interesting ways as a way of luring the enslaved into Christianity and away from their religion, according to an article at the Mariners Museum called Captive Passage. Enslaved Africans in Roman Catholic nations often converted easily because of Catholicism’s ability to accommodate and absorb other beliefs
Often, African practices were brought into Christianity in new and interesting ways as a way of luring the enslaved into Christianity and away from their religion, according to an article at the Mariners Museum called Captive Passage. Enslaved Africans in Roman Catholic nations often converted easily because of Catholicism’s ability to accommodate and absorb other beliefs
8. Mixing of Religious Practices
Symbols and objects, such as crosses, were conflated with charms carried by Africans to ward off evil spirits. Christ was interpreted as a healer similar to the priests of Africa, according to PBS’ Slavery and the Making of America. In the New World, fusions of African spirituality and Christianity led to distinct new practices among enslaved populations, including voodoo or vodun in Haiti and Spanish Louisiana. Although African religious influences were also important among Northern Black people, exposure to Old World religions was more intense in the South, where the density of the Black population was greater.
Symbols and objects, such as crosses, were conflated with charms carried by Africans to ward off evil spirits. Christ was interpreted as a healer similar to the priests of Africa, according to PBS’ Slavery and the Making of America. In the New World, fusions of African spirituality and Christianity led to distinct new practices among enslaved populations, including voodoo or vodun in Haiti and Spanish Louisiana. Although African religious influences were also important among Northern Black people, exposure to Old World religions was more intense in the South, where the density of the Black population was greater.
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| The White man's Man Made God |
Resources & Credit
9 Altanta BlackStar - Thursday, March 10th, 2016 Devastating Actions White Slaves Masters Took to Convert Black People to
Christianity
April 10, 2015 | Posted by Curtis Bunn
April 10, 2015 | Posted by Curtis Bunn
Nobody can deny that Muslims started slavery in Africa and still enslave Africans today. Nobody goes to Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries (that are so wealthy because of forced slavery) and demand their rightful reparations for slavery. By saying Europeans are to blame for black slavery is denying the justice to countless black men and woman who were enslaved by Muslim countries in the past and still are today. How many children are crying out for a savior from Muslim enslavement while you inaccurately blame Europeans? To set the record straight; yes Europeans did enslave people, from black to white all the way back (yes even whites were slaves of whites) But Muslims countries on record enslaved more people for far longer - including whites, than any other nation in the history of the world - and are continuing to do this unchallenged.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that you say Jesus was created as a white man but the people who allegedly created him lived in the Middle East and described him with darker features. Yes, eventually an incorrect picture of a European-looking Jesus emerged, but I don't think it started out that way. Furthermore, Vodun is a West African religion that is distinct from other African religious traditions. Also, I was unaware that "white people" forced religion on slaves. In fact, they often would disallow marriage between slaves except in some plantations where makeshift "jump the broom" ceremonies were performed either in secret or the masters would allow it to be performed. Also, not every family was separated. It is an awful thing, of course, that many were separated, but it is not factual to say all were. If you're going to posit these things as facts, at least you should cite better from where the "facts" are coming.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-62/defeating-conspiracy.html#storystream
ReplyDeleteThis article states that Africans freely adopted and adapted Christianity to their own lives and beliefs.
Either way they have every chance in the world to go back to their old beliefs, yet Christianity remains the most popular religion among blacks in America, by FAR... Just like I've never known or heard of a single black person moving back to Africa to create a more fair nation since America is so racist and evil. I think it's because they know that America is,in fact, the most tolerant place in the world. And the #1 place in the world for a black man to prosper.
DeleteYou act like the white people themselves had a choice in the matter as well. Do you KNOW how many white people were slaughtered in Europe for not worshipping God the exact right way?
ReplyDeleteIf you expected or dreamed the SLAVES to escape the same fate, you are just disconnected from reality. But I suppose you probably think that, if situations were reversed, the black man would have been a kind, gentle, enlightened teacher towards each other And the white man, and never would have harmed them in any way.
Black superiority, White superiority, it's all different strains of the same cancerous virus rotting the minds of people who had the potential to be good but who allowed their hatred to consume them fully.