Role of Christianity in the Development of the African American Psyche
Examining the role that religion played in the African-American community, primarily pre-civil war, can be a difficult task due to the limited amount of evidence available. ... 2 Syncretism occurred with the combining of African tradition and Christian principles to create an African-American spirituality specific to its people. Whites, being leery not to encourage freedom-based teachings of Christianity, provided a watered-down version that stayed true to the salvation message and passages encouraging the slave’s docility, but avoided passages promoting freedom primarily found in the Old Testament. The Great Awakening of the 1740’s proved to be an instrumental event of the new African-American spirituality with its focal point on a “personal relationship” with God and conversion of the masses, rather than the liturgical and theological focus prior to the awakening.3 This development enabled lay preachers with no theological background to attempt mass conversion using emotional strategies rather than ideology to persuade non-believers, and created a more accessible Christianity that the slaves could grasp and integrate into their own spirituality. Though Christianity was not likely whole-heartedly accepted by the millions of slaves that the church claims were converted, it is undeniable that the influence Christianity played in their cultural development was vast and extensive. This conglomeration of ideals to form an authentic African-American spirituality with Christian and African overtones has been described as the “invisible institution”4, as even small, private gatherings for worship among slaves was forbidden. ... The development of their distinctive spirituality however was more prevalent in the private meetings of slaves in hush harbors, safe havens in the environment that enabled larger slave worship rituals.5 As stated above, a lay preacher had now become a prominent part of 19th century Christianity due to the Great Awakening, and this development was also felt in the slave community. Relying mainly on emotion and charisma, black preachers could speak confidently to their peers even with their limited knowledge of traditional Christianity. During these “sermons”, the congregation was encouraged to shout and respond to what was being said in a give-and-take fashion that was unique to the slave gatherings and was a product of old African worship rituals. ... However, in the minds of blacks, America took on the role of Egypt in the Exodus story and is well illustrated the words of Maria Stewart, a free black reform activist: America, America, foul and indelible is thy stain!