Modern studies of slavery recognize that religion was one of the most crucial components of slave culture. Historians have disagreed, however, over the role those religious beliefs played. Some historians have argued that slaves took the evangelical religion of white Protestants and adapted it, creating in essence a new version of Christianity that strongly reflected their African heritage. The role of communal singing and dancing in slave services represented a continuation of African forms. The African view that gods spoke to individuals by possessing their spirit was akin to the conversion experience in evangelical churches, and the African concept of a creator god was easily adapted to the Christian concept of an all-powerful deity. This interpretation of slave religion places primary emphasis on independent black services in the quarters and secret ones held in the woods. In this view, religion helped create a distinctive African American Culture, nurtured racial self-esteem, and weakened the forces of accommodation within slavery.

Other historians emphasize that the religious experiences of most enslaved African Americans occurred within the regular white-controlled churches of the South. It has been estimated that one million slaves were included in the southern churches before the Civil War. Black worshipers were especially numerous in the Methodist and Baptist churches; indeed, in some areas, slaves were a majority in local congregations. As a result, most slaves worshiped together with their masters rather than in separate services. At one point during the regular service ministers delivered a special message to the slaves who were present, but they also heard the same sermon as whites, with its emphasis on faith and salvation. According to this view, secret services in the quarters and elsewhere were an extension of regular worship, not an alternative. Thus they did not provide a fundamentally different message. "The church," one historian concludes, "was the single most important institution in the 'Americanization' of the bondsman."

1			Read these excerpts about religion from Harriet Jacobs' and Frederick Douglass' autobiographies. What role did the church and Christianity play in the lives of these individuals? Based on these accounts does it appear that their religious experiences occurred primarily within the structures of the white church or in a mode adapted to the needs of the slaves? What concerns might historians have about the reliability of these authors when assessing the evidence provided in these narratives? What stance does the historian in this essay take regarding the role religion played in slaves lives? Finally, consider, as in the last chapter, whether the arguments that religion "Americanized" the slaves or that they took it and adapted white practices to their own needs are mutually exclusive. Do you think they are? Why or why not? http://docsouth.unc.edu/jacobs/jacobs.html#jac105 http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/dougl92/dougl92.html#p110 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part2/2narr2.html