Slave Religion and Liberation Theology

The first evangelicalComes from the Greek term, evangelion, and means good news or the Gospel. This term was use in the 16th century to refer to Protestants and is still used this way in Germany to this day. In England and the... more missionaries were lay Moravian parishioners sent to the West Indies in 1732 to spread their Christian message and to help alleviate the dismal living conditions of its slave population. Ever since, there has been a complex relationship between Christianity and slaves and their progeny throughout the Americas.

Initially, plantation owners were not very receptive to Christian missionaries evangelizing their slaves and thus initially forbade their being baptized. The owner’s reluctance was due to the British and American Christian efforts to eliminate slavery. However, the missionaries were pragmatic, so by the early 1800s they had begun teaching slaves in the South that they should accept their lot in life in order to be good Christians. They even adapted the Puritan covenant theologyis a major component of Reformed theology that is based on Calvin’s assertion that God entered into a covenant of works with Adam but after he fell he extended a covenant of grace to the elect with is the same... more so slavery consisted of an implied covenant requiring the master to be kind and the slave to be obedient. With this change, slave owners began welcoming missionaries onto their plantations in hopes that they would create more submissive slaves. The abolitionist movement, however, was driven by Protestants in the North, creating conflict with congregations in the South, which led to a split in the largest ProtestantContrary to popular belief, the term does not refer to protest against the Roman Catholic Church. The term original refers to a formal protest lodged by Lutheran princes against an unfavorable decision made by the imperial Diet of Speyer in... more denomination (the American Methodist Churcha term translated from the Greek word “Ecclesia” which means an assembly called together and is sometime translated as a congregation. A church is an organized group of believers who adhere to a set of core beliefs. The Church in... more) before the American Civil War more.

In the nineteenth century, many slaves throughout the Americas embraced a form of Christianity which focused on the liberation of the Israelites from slavery and their exodus from Egypt. They also found comfort in learning that Jesus(c. 4 B.C.–A.D. 30-33) Also known as Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus Christ, the Messiah, and Savior of the World. He is the founding figure of Christianity and accepted by Christians as the Son of God in the flesh. He taught... more suffered with them. The stories of the early Christian martyrs inspired them. The doctrineis derived from the Latin word for teaching, doctrina, and is an important aspect of Christianity more so than other world religions because Christianity focuses on the teachings and nature of Christ. more of redemption from sinIs violation to God’s Law, and implicitly includes disobedience to God’s the command to love God and one’s neighbor. See mortal sin, original sin. more became tied to the hope of temporalIs a technical term used in theology referring to this mortal physical existence in time as opposed to eternal divine existence outside of time. more liberation as well. The volume and prominence of Christian scripture promising relief to the downtrodden and help to those in need encouraged the oppressed slaves. The special attention Jesus(c. 4 B.C.–A.D. 30-33) Also known as Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus Christ, the Messiah, and Savior of the World. He is the founding figure of Christianity and accepted by Christians as the Son of God in the flesh. He taught... more gave to the outcasts of society reassured them they were not alone and forgotten. The egalitarian message that everyone, rich and poor, bond and free, who opened their heart to God could experience the power of the Holy Spirit resonated with them. As Christianity had done down through the ages, it changed the Black slave community as they adapted Christianity to fit their condition.

Christian slaves often claimed direct revelationThe divine disclosure to humans of future events, God’s will or his nature. more and authority from God to get around the restrictions imposed on them. One of the early Moravian converts, Rebecca, found a Catholic priest to baptize her when the slave owner forbade it. She taught Christianity to the women she worked with even though there was no church they could attend and they risked punishment. She claimed her direction to spread the gospel came from God, a higher authority than secularOf the world in contrast to the divine. more powers. This was a common thread throughout the Americas. Black Christians took great risks to spread the good news of ChristDerived from a Greek term meaning anointed and is equivalent to the word “messiah” from Hebrew roots. The anointing references the act of installing a new king similar to the modern custom of crowning a king, so the term “Christ”... more crucified. In the South, Black congregations had to be under the direction of a White congregation and a White minister. However, in practice, they were usually given a lot of autonomyA term that literally means to give yourself the law. This idea was central to Kant’s moral theory that reason gives itself the moral law. more because the Whites did not want to debase themselves by dealing with blacks. This provided an opportunity for slaves to assemble and learn leadership skills.

Another common component of slave religion was its integration of various aspects of the slaves’ ancestral traditions. This varied from the use of drums and rhythm in their music on one end of the spectrum to comingling their African gods with Christian saintsIs a term used in the New Testament for Christian believers. In Roman Catholicism it refers to officially canonized, deceased holy men and women who can intercede with God on behalf of ordinary men and women and whose ascension to... more and the TrinityThe Traditional Christian doctrine that God is simultaneously the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three persons in one, and addresses the relation between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. This issue as at the center... more on the other extreme. In Latin America, there was a symbiotic relationship between the Catholic Churcha term translated from the Greek word “Ecclesia” which means an assembly called together and is sometime translated as a congregation. A church is an organized group of believers who adhere to a set of core beliefs. The Church in... more and civil authorities. Consequently, slave religious practices had to resemble Catholic services. African shamans would teach the slaves to venerate their ancestral gods along with Jesus(c. 4 B.C.–A.D. 30-33) Also known as Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus Christ, the Messiah, and Savior of the World. He is the founding figure of Christianity and accepted by Christians as the Son of God in the flesh. He taught... more, the Virgin MaryMary (born c. 18 B.C.) was a Galilean Jewish woman and mother of Jesus. Christians believe that Jesus was conceived miraculously through the Holy Spirit while betrothed to Joseph. She has been venerated since early Christianity and is considered by... more and the Catholic saintsIs a term used in the New Testament for Christian believers. In Roman Catholicism it refers to officially canonized, deceased holy men and women who can intercede with God on behalf of ordinary men and women and whose ascension to... more. In Cuba, this led to the creation of the Santeria religion in which, to onlookers, it may appear that Black “Christians” were performing their traditional dances in front of an altar of the Virgin MaryMary (born c. 18 B.C.) was a Galilean Jewish woman and mother of Jesus. Christians believe that Jesus was conceived miraculously through the Holy Spirit while betrothed to Joseph. She has been venerated since early Christianity and is considered by... more, but to the participants, the figure was also their ancestral deity of maternity and of the sea. 1

Christianity became ingrained in the Black community and was a vital part of the American Black culture after the American Civil War more. It unified and sustained the community up to the 1960’s civil rights movement which was led by Black preachers.

Liberation theology developed in Latin America independent of slave religion, but the two later influenced each other.

For centuries, the Catholic Churcha term translated from the Greek word “Ecclesia” which means an assembly called together and is sometime translated as a congregation. A church is an organized group of believers who adhere to a set of core beliefs. The Church in... more was complicit in the oppression of the poor in Latin America by its wealthy European colonizers. However, Vatican II(A.D. 1962–1965) The ecumenical council of Roman Catholic bishops presided over by Pope John XXIII and Pope Paul VI that was held between 1962–1965, which updated many aspects of the Church to be more combatable with the modern world and... more reversed the Church’s course. He stressed the need for structural changes in societies designed to increase social justice and human dignity. After Vatican II(A.D. 1962–1965) The ecumenical council of Roman Catholic bishops presided over by Pope John XXIII and Pope Paul VI that was held between 1962–1965, which updated many aspects of the Church to be more combatable with the modern world and... more, the Churcha term translated from the Greek word “Ecclesia” which means an assembly called together and is sometime translated as a congregation. A church is an organized group of believers who adhere to a set of core beliefs. The Church in... more made a concerted effort to increase participation of the laityOr “lay persons” is a term derived from the Greek word for “the people,” and refers to the rank and file membership of the church in contrast to the clergy. The distinction is much greater and more important in Roman... more in its affairs and to increase its ecumenicalcomes from a Greek word for “worldwide,” and refers to both ancient church councils representing the whole church as well to discussions during the past century between Roman Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox churches regarding unification of the various branches of... more outreach. Under this new open atmosphere, the Peruvian Dominican priest Gustavo Gutiérrez published his book A Theology of Liberation in 1971. He combined biblical teachings against oppression, which the Black slaves had grabbed onto, with the long Catholic traditionThis word comes from a Latin term meaning “to hand down,” that originally referred to the teaching of the apostles as handed down in the churches they founded, which led to these churches gaining authority of other locations due to... more of charitable service. He also inserted Marxist ideology to create a new hands-on theology in which God is found by resisting oppression and relieving the suffering of the poor.

Gutiérrez rejected the existential approach, which emphasized private individual religious experience separate from public secularOf the world in contrast to the divine. more activities. He stressed the need for religion to be practical and not just theoretical. This was encapsulated in what one of Gutiérrez’s fellow liberation theologists, archbishop Oscar Romero, declared shortly before his assassination: “The Christian faithIn word for belief and faith is the same in Latin and most European languages, but in English faith often denotes an active believe, one that inspires action based on a belief. For Luther, faith and belief generally meant the... more does not cut us off from the world, but immerses us in it.” Liberation theology was geared toward transforming the structural, economic and political elements of society which perpetuate the exploitation of the poor by the wealthy. It stressed the need for land reforms and advocated for the creation of rural base communities run by laypeople.  These laypersons attended to the community’s temporalIs a technical term used in theology referring to this mortal physical existence in time as opposed to eternal divine existence outside of time. more as well as spiritual needs, similar to the confraternitiesImportant and very popular lay mutual aid societies in the late medieval and early modern Catholic Europe that were organized for the spiritual and social support of its members. more in the late Middle Ages. These base communities also addressed local needs such as health care, literacy, and childcare.2

Instead of stressing the importance of personal salvation, Liberation theology looks for salvation through social, economic and political advancement for the whole class, race or other disadvantaged group.

Liberation theology draws heavily on Marx’s proposition that how people look at and analyze the world is shaped by their economic and social positions. What people see depends on the vantage point from which they are looking. Consequently, very little good can actually be accomplished until the social and economic conditions are changed to enable people to view things in a different way. This aspect of liberation theology was adopted by the Black Power movement and feminists in the late twentieth century. It has continued to spread beyond its Christian roots and can now be found in other religious movements around the world. It has found fertile ground because of the postmodern worldview based on relativism.

go to previous article:

Kierkegaard, Barth, and Neo-Orthodoxy

go to next article:

Twentieth-Century Philosophy