Religious Studies of the Slavery Problem Essay

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The debates on the problem of slavery took place in the USA in 1840s. The key point of the discussion was the prohibition or, on the contrary, the permission of the slavery on the new territories. The opinions of the opposing parties divided, and both parties pressed the case with rather strong arguments.

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From the religious point of view, there were arguments, which defended as pro-slavery position, as well as those that were against it.

The adherences of the pro-slavery position, trying to defend their point of view, used those fact that there was no the distinct position in the Bible, which condemned the institution of the slavery. However, this point of view is rather disputable, the adherence of this theory adduced the examples from the ancient bible texts, in which the religious leaders had owned slaves.

The typical representative of the apologists was George Freeman, a Protestant Minister. In his arguments he emphasizes the fact, that the relations between the master and the slave are viewed by the Bible as a natural sort of things.

The Baptist pastor Stringfellow in his works uses such term as Christian mercy, which is given to the slaves by their owners. According to him it is a delight given by God to the Africans to be a slave of the Christian owners. Stringfellow believes that, by involving into Christianity, Africans save their soul.

One of the adherents of the anti-slavery position was William Wilson. He was strongly convinced that slavery had nothing to do with the Christian teaching. Together with Wilson, John Fee considered that the institution of the slavery had to be abolished. As well as their opponents abolitionists also referred to the Bible. They insisted on the fact, that God had created a man in order to dominate the animals and the nature, but not the human beings.

One of the reasons of the colonization of America was the search of the religious freedom. The desire of the early colonists was to escape from the religious interdictions of their countries. They wanted to achieve the freedom of conscience and the latitude in religion. These wishes affected the seeking of the new religion, which would have nothing in common with the Church of England, and at the same time would correspond to the believes of the people.

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The first colonies were founded by the different religious groups on the basis of their cultural and religious traditions. The Puritans were among them. The adherents of this faith believed that the person should repent for his sinful condition by means of gospel. They also believed in the Holy Spirit as a way for attaching the unending bliss.

Though the idea was to escape from the religious pressure of Europe, the Puritans was the typical example of the religious prosecution. The nonconformists were subjected to persecution in order to make the Puritanism the dominant religion in all the colonies. With the course of time, the Puritanism has lost its dominant positions, and the religious persecutions were stopped. This fact affected the rising of the other religious tendencies.

There appeared such religions as Baptism, which was expanded practically in all the colonies. Roman Catholic faith and Protestantism were spread mainly in Maryland. End even the Lutherans organized their communities in Pennsylvania. Among the most widely spread religious traditions was the Anglicanism, which was established practically in every colony. The Anglicanism is the form of Christianity, at the same time its adherents declare their independence from the Pope.

Different religious faiths played a great role in the political and social life of America. The freedom of faith attracted the colonist from around the world, resulting the quick growth of the population.

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IvyPanda. 2020. "Religious Studies of the Slavery Problem." May 4, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/religious-studies-of-the-slavery-problem/.

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IvyPanda. "Religious Studies of the Slavery Problem." May 4, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/religious-studies-of-the-slavery-problem/.

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