Assigned readings and broadcast : Gaustad & Schmidt Chapter 9

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?stor…

Topics:

1) Religion and Race – African American religious traditions
2) Divisions within Christian Churches over the Issue of Slavery

Respond to A1, A2, A3, D, and one other question-set. For this module, when you respond to a question set be sure to respond to every question within the question-set. (250 word minimum.)

A 1-3 note): In Module 9, both the “Spiritual Tidal Wave” broadcast and the “New Evangelicals Leaders” broadcast discussed Christianity as a religion of the marginalized, the poor, the suffering. In this module we see Christianity called upon by some to justify slavery, called upon by others to argue for the abolishment of slavery, and called upon by many of the slaves themselves as a promise of liberation from slavery and oppression.

A1) Discuss the ways in which religiously-based arguments were employed to justify slavery.

A2) Discuss the ways in which religiously-based arguments were used to support the cause of abolition (abolishment of slavery).

A3) How and why did “Egypt” and “Exodus” hold special significance for many slaves? Many slaves became fervently Christian, despite the fact that Christianity was the religion of the enslaver—what aspects of Christianity and/or conceptions of Jesus held special appeal for many slaves?

B) Describe some of the elements of traditional African religious worlviews. What aspects of African traditions have been incorporated into African American expressions of Christianity?

C) Discuss the ways in which the slavery issue split the churches.

D) Based on the broadcasts, what roles did spirituals play in the lives of the slaves? In what ways did spirituals function as a “secret door” and as a “code”?

E) What did you find surprising, interesting, or controversial about the material covered in this module?