Religion As Portrayed In The Film 'Twelve Years'

Many slave owners were against the belief of religious expression because they believed it was the source of disciplinary problems that would lead to fights, low efficiency, and insubordination. Slave owners such as Zephaniah Kingsley and Judge Wilkerson believed that religion would threaten slave control and as a result slaves would become more difficult to handle. Kingsley and Wilkerson assigned white ministers to preach to the slaves and the ministers suggested the beliefs that the slave owners were “Gods” and the slaves were obligated to respect and serve them. Blacks were not satisfied with their owner’s and many held secret meetings when they believed their owner or overseer weren’t looking. Those who were caught suffered consequences of physical abuse or murder.

Since they did, they often used the scripture to justify slavery. Since slavery was justified to them, they saw no wrong in beating people until they were bleeding or even to the point that flesh was gone. Slaves were allowed to receive religious teaching, but they couldn’t be on the plantation were they worked. In an article written by Peter Randolph, he references the sermons that were preached to the slaves (Randolph, The Difference betwee the Christianity Taught by Masters and Preached by Slaves) . Sermons were geared to servants obeying your masters.

James Sloan’s book The Great Question Answered presents an abhorrent perspective of the institution of slavery within 19th-century American society. Throughout the book, themes of authority, classification, and essentialism give rise to how Sloan attempts to protect this damaging societal construction that breeds hatred and distrust. This narrative pushes forward a Christian view that gives light to several perspectives that come to the defense of slavery; using the Christian religion as his primary tool. By projecting his values, Sloan can exploit absent authorities to defend the institution of slavery, perpetuating White supremacist ideals through a Christian perspective.

Religion played a crucial role in Douglass’ life as a slave. Religion began as an excuse that his master would use to justify his cruelty. “I assert most unhesitatingly, that the religion of the south is a mere covering for the most horrid crimes,--a justifier of the most appalling barbarity,--a sanctifier of the most hateful frauds,--and a dark shelter under, which the darkest, foulest, grossest, and most infernal deeds of slaveholders find the strongest protection. Were I to be again reduced to the chains of slavery, next to that enslavement, I should regard being the slave of a religious master the greatest calamity that could befall me.

Many of the slaveowners were church going Christians who thought they were doing the Lord’s work. They justified their actions by quoting verses from the Bible. One verse in the bible that they used to justify their actions states, “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling” (Ephesians 6:5). Whenever they would be questioned how they were capable of owning slaves and treating them poorly, they would state that verse and ask how anyone could go against the word of god. Another verse is Titus 2:9 which states, “tell slaves to be submissive to their masters and to give satisfaction in every respect.”

Religion, including Christianity, affected both Douglass and other slaves. Religion and slavery have a lot to do with each other due to the fact that many of the slaveholders are religious. Douglass describes how religion affects their treatments. The religious slaveholders tend to

The Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass challenges and enhances information from the textbook America a Narrative History. In Chapter 13 of the textbook, the Second Great Awakening is mentioned, and the author talks about how large camp meetings were held, which resulted in many converting to Methodism. Similarly, Douglass, as his master attended one, mentions a camp meeting, where Douglass hoped his master would become kinder or emancipate his slaves, however, instead it made his master crueler. In addition, in Chapter 15 the conflict between a true Christian and a Southern Christian is brought up. In both the narrative and the textbook, the fact that slavery is endorsed by the bible is brought up as part of the pro-slavery movement.

Around the time of Fredrick Douglass, there was people claiming to be Christians used the bible and their religion to justify their injustice actions against humanity. Some Slaveholders mostly abused the religion for their own means. The majority of slaveholders use their religion as a reason for abusing their slaves. These slaveholders acted as if they were God. Slavery has a long and very ancient history, but it is the Christian slaveholders who are considered to be the worst slaveholders in history.

The first view, the slaves or the color people seen religion as “God seeing everyone great and small, bond and free, everyone were sinners in the sigh of God.” To the slaves religion offered a way for the slaves to achieve grace. On the opposing side you had the slaveholders, the masters, or white people; seen religion as a way to be cruel to slaves. Through this they were able to beat, murder, labor, and make slaves bleed in the name of religion. In the last chapter of the story; the Appendix Douglass explains three things.

Instead he began to propagate the belief that sharing religion with the slaves would “lay them under stronger obligations to perform the greatest diligence and fidelity”. Though a number of protestant religions moved throughout at the time the Baptist church eventually took ahold of the south to become the most practiced religion. Frey discusses briefly the African culture that made some influence on the lifestyle of the African slaves. Most of the African cultural practices were bogged down or destroyed by the slave owners and American society.

Evangelical preachers, in keeping with their social doctrine that targeted the disadvantaged in society, attempted to convert slaves and Native Americans. Prior to the Awakening no one had made a serious effort at their conversion for fear that Christianity was “a step towards freedom” (357). Slaves attended evangelical sermons en masse, wary of the Anglican ministers who supported their masters. Evangelical Christianity offered moments of release and equality from the perpetual suffering of a slave’s life. This did not mean, however, that the evangelists actively opposed slavery.

Although from different eras, both Douglass and Rowlandson use similar techniques such as religion, repetition, and sentimentalism to show that being held captive and slavery is wrong. America was founded on Christian beliefs, so Douglass attacked that. He states, “If the churches and ministers of our country were not stupidly blind, or most wickedly indifferent, they, too, would so regard it” (Douglass 1037) Douglass is making a bold move that will spark controversy. He uses statements like this to keep the audience’s attention.

Throughout his narrative, Douglass’s descriptions of the white slaveholders expose the Christian hypocrisy found in the American slave system. Douglass first does so by exposing how the lesson taught by Christians to help those in need is contradicted by the experiences Douglass has especially with hunger. Douglass reflects on these experiences when he states that for the “first time during a space of more than seven years” feeling the effects of the “painful gnawing’s of hunger…” (54). This event shows the Christians’ lessons of selflessness and kindness is hypocritical as they treat their fellow humans as subhuman. The Christians at the time rely on scripture to make a case for slavery in America.

Religion and its relationship to slavery is a contradictive subject, whether it was forced upon slaves or was a form of hope and freedom is still commonly debated about to this day. However, these individuals were devoted Christians in the abolitionist movement who all

The idea behind keeping the slave’s faith in the Lord was that the Lord allows slavery because white people are better than the blacks. Basically, any slave who disobeyed their owner was disobeying the Lord, resulting in an eternity in hell, “To be good children of the Lord, the slaves must beware of Satan who created their cunning wicked master of Hell – for it was Satan who created their desires for freedom and tempted them to run away” (Oates