Religion and Spirituality in Slave Rebellion: Black Radical Tradition

Introduction

From the outset, it should be noted that there was a rather rigorous policing of slavery in America in an attempt to discourage rebellion. In the American South, for instance, slave rebellions were deemed a source of widespread anxiety, owing to the fact that a significant portion of the region's population comprised enslaved Black people. Throughout the South and further afield, rules were enacted with the intention of not only controlling slave movement, but also slave congregation. This did not, however, prevent rebellions from taking place.

To a large extent, this paper concerns itself with the role of religion and spirituality in the Black Radical Tradition. More specifically, it explores the role that religion played in inspiring slave rebellions. In doing so, the paper first takes into consideration the religious context of slavery in America, its utilization as an enabler of slavery, and how African slaves transformed it into a means of advancing rebellion and liberation.

Christianity as a Tool of Slave Control

As Jabir points out, one of the largest conversions of enslaved Africans to Christianity took place in the first half of the eighteenth century (54). Importantly, as Jabir further notes, those enslaved Africans were given hope by the Exodus narrative in the Old Testament, as well as the book of Revelation in the New Testament. While the Exodus narrative spoke of the deliverance of the Israelites from slavery, the book of Revelation made clear that persecution and hardship would come to an end, calling upon Christians to persevere because the end was near. The common themes in both books were, thus, hope and deliverance.

To a large extent, religion became a potent tool for slave owners to exert even greater control over enslaved people. According to Gerbner, the vast majority of slaveholders considered themselves Christian (107). To justify holding other human beings as legal property and to advance an agenda of obedience, they cleverly deployed various scriptures — with the Apostle Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians being, as Gerbner further observes, one of their favored tools (115). In that text, servants are called upon to be obedient to their masters, framed as a means of gaining access to God's favor. More specifically, as Gerbner quotes from Ephesians VI:5–7:

Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; not with eye-service, as men-pleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. (117)

Through the deployment of such tactics, Christianity became an enabler of slavery. As Raboteau observes, slaves who were brought into the country from 1619 onward subscribed to a variety of religious inclinations (212). Close to a third identified as Muslim, while a vast majority largely embraced spiritual traditions rooted in traditional African society. There were also those who had some Christian background. At the outset, very few slaveholders had any genuine concern for the spiritual growth of African slaves. It was not until much later that Christianity appeared, among some, to be a viable means of directing slave obedience, docility, and submissiveness (Raboteau 219). From that point, slaves were permitted to attend church sermons — but only under a specific set of rules and standards. For instance, only white preachers deemed sympathetic to slavery would lead the separate gatherings arranged for enslaved people.

Proslavery Preaching and Biblical Distortion

In most cases, proslavery preachers deviated from the gospel in an attempt to advance their agenda. According to Wilson-Hartgrove, some preachers even advanced the erroneous teaching that Africans were descendants of Ham (177) — a clear attempt to demoralize enslaved people and make them view their condition as divinely ordained. Other preachers attempted to intertwine slavery and providence, claiming, as Wilson-Hartgrove further notes, that it was only through the slave experience that African slaves would come to know the message of Christianity and have their souls saved from eternal damnation (179). The experience of slavery was thus packaged as a vehicle through which God manifested his providential care.

It should be noted that although abolitionists existed at the time, they were in the minority. Those abolitionists opposed the use of scripture to promote or advance slavery. Their viewpoints appeared strange to many, precisely because the teachings they preached against seemed firmly anchored in the dominant interpretation of biblical doctrine. They were, as a result, often viewed as infidels.

Slave Biblical Literacy and the Seeds of Rebellion

However, as Jabir points out, to some extent "slaves attempted to transform the religion they had been given into a means of envisioning, enabling, and enacting their liberation" (54). To a large extent, this transformation was mediated by their acquisition of the English language and their ability to read and understand the Bible for themselves. Once able to do so, many began to question the biblical justification for slavery.

Any discussion of the role that religion played in inspiring slave rebellions would be incomplete without consideration of Nat Turner's Rebellion. Born on October 2, 1800, Nat Turner was among those who came to read and understand the Bible independently — a development that led him to question the ideals being propagated around him. Irons describes Turner as "a slave who could read and was given religious instruction when he was growing up" (37). He eventually became a minister. Most, however, associate Turner with a violent assault against white men and women in Southampton County, Virginia. Understanding Turner's background enables a clearer conceptualization of the role religion played in inspiring slave rebellions. Nat Turner's Revolt is also particularly significant because it has been identified as one of the most consequential slave rebellions in American history.

Nat Turner's Revolt: Religion as Radical Action

As Irons points out, Turner was convinced that his mission carried the seal of God's approval (42). He believed his actions represented both spiritual intervention and divine command. He fashioned himself as a savior of all those who were enslaved. In Irons' words, "Nat Turner believed that he had been specifically ordained to obtain his freedom through the slaughtering of any white person who came into his path" (53). He embarked on a campaign to recruit individuals who shared his perspective and to convert those who did not. He interpreted various natural occurrences as signs from God directing his actions. His violent crusade commenced following a solar eclipse, which Turner regarded, according to Irons, as a divine sign of a victorious march ahead (53). At that point, he had only four followers.

Turner's first victims were the entire family of Joseph Travis — his slaveholder. This was the opening act of a campaign of terror that left at least sixty men, women, and children dead (Irons 56). Over time, he recruited scores of other enslaved Africans who came to regard him as the Black Messiah. Though the figure is disputed, it is believed that Turner's group eventually comprised more than seventy men (Irons 57). Turner was ultimately captured and executed on November 11, 1831, following a brief trial. According to Irons, Turner's revolt was a clear indication that slaveholders and their sympathizers had been unable to fully contain enslaved Africans through manipulated biblical doctrine (59).

Turner's rebellion appears to have been inspired by the concept of slave eschatology. This, according to Jabir, was an intention — both active and imagined — to halt slavery through engagement in acts of violence, most of which were life-risking (55). In Jabir's words, "slave eschatology held that in the divine will of God all should be free… yet that did not mean they should wait for this end to be delivered to them" (55). This appears to be what Turner and his followers subscribed to — the conviction that they must take matters into their own hands and trust God to deliver victory in the end.

According to Raboteau, there is also the possibility that Turner and his group were convinced that Christianity did not represent the interests of enslaved Africans (131). Christianity may have been perceived, in their view, as the religion of the white man. This interpretation gains additional force from the fact that in gaining the ability to comprehend biblical teachings independently, Turner — and others in similar positions — could identify the glaring hypocrisies being propagated by those who claimed to spread the gospel. It is for this reason that Raboteau asserts there is a strong likelihood that the rebellion "underscored the difference between European religion and African spirituality and alerted the country to the reality that enslaved Africans were not willing to circumvent their spiritual identification" (137). Nonetheless, notwithstanding Raboteau's assertions, it remains evident that Turner's revolt contained clear undertones of Christian faith.

Conclusion

In the final analysis, the very same religion that had been deployed by slaveholders as a tactic of social control turned out to be a potent tool for slave rebellion. To a significant extent, religion became radicalized and was wielded as a source of empowerment by enslaved Africans. Further scholarly exploration is needed to assess the degree to which the dynamics examined in this paper apply to slave rebellions in other historical and geographic contexts.

Gerbner, Katharine. Christian Slavery: Conversion and Race in the Protestant Atlantic World. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018.

Irons, Charles F. The Origins of Proslavery Christianity: White and Black Evangelicals in Colonial and Antebellum Virginia. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2009.

Jabir, Johari. Conjuring Freedom: Music and Masculinity in the Civil War's "Gospel Army." Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 2017.

Raboteau, Albert J. Slave Religion: The "Invisible Institution" in the Antebellum South. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.

Wilson-Hartgrove, Jonathan. Reconstructing the Gospel: Finding Freedom from Slaveholder Religion. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.