The African belief in one Supreme Being, in a realistic distinction between good and evil, in lesser spiritual powers, and in creation as the handiwork of God, paralleled much in the Hebraic background of Christianity. These similarities lessened the cultural shock as the African came into contact with the tenets of white Evangelicalism. But on occasion there was conflict. A white methodist reported an aged "Negro" to whom he had been trying to explain the dogma of the Trinity, once asked which of the three "was the head man to which he should go when asking for anything."
During the early history of slavery, the Africanisms that were retained in African American spirituality were oftern seen to be (by whites) a pagan faith. These rituals and dogmas were variously described as Voodoo, Hoodoo, Witchcraft, and superstitions and were particuliarly prominent among the Gulla speakers of South Carolina. Whites often commented on these "pagan practices" and fetishes, and were THREATENED BY THEM. As a result, great effort was expended on eradicating these practices, and many were lost within generation.
The degree to which whites were successful in this, however, is the subject of great debate. Melville J. Hershovits has advanced the thesis that the success of Baptists in attracting blacks was rooted in the appeal of immersion which sugggests a connection in the slaves' mind withthe river of spirits in West African Religions. Others have attacked this position including, the black scholar E. Franklin Frazier who argues that enslavement largely destroyed the social basis of religion among blacks, and that the appeal of Baptists to blacks concerns the emotional content of their worship. Stanley Elkins (whose views were heavily influenced by what took place in the concentration camps of World War ll Europe), has argued--like Frazier--that slavery was so demeaning that blacks (like the Jews in the camps) were eventually stripped of dignity and humanity, including their faith. John Blassingame, on the other hand, has provided a significant body of evidence that blacks hung on to their religion as a form of resistence.
What is clear is that African-American were fairly quick to adopt the prevailing evangelical culture. Denominations such as the Episcopalians and Presbyterians stressed order did not attract the slaves. Most African-Americans instead gravitated to the emotionalism of the Methodist and Baptists. Indeed. in a number of ways the religion of the south's black population shared much more in common with the Evangelical Protestantism of the region's whites than it diverged from it. After all, it was the evangelicals among southern whites who were motivated to bring slaves to the Christian faith.
But blacks also bequeathed something black to the evangelical tradition. There is a fair body of evidence that suggests some whites copied certain practices of black worshippers. Shouting in worship, for example, was one such borrowing. Many blacks looked down on whites who shouted in worship being poor copies themselves, or in the parlance of our day, as "wanna-be's." The call and response pattern also appears to be derived from the African heritage.
Even though Black evangelcalism shared much in common with its white counterpart, when African-Americans held their services, whether approved or overseen by whites or held CLANDESTINELY, they added their own flourishes and unique styles to the white religious legacy. In so doing, they created an "invisible institution," a church that was their own. Because Black evangelicalism was not identitical to its white counterpart, the points of difference betwen the two tell us a great deal about the religious world of the slave.
During the early history of slavery, the Africanisms that were retained in African American spirituality were oftern seen to be (by whites) a pagan faith. These rituals and dogmas were variously described as Voodoo, Hoodoo, Witchcraft, and superstitions and were particuliarly prominent among the Gulla speakers of South Carolina. Whites often commented on these "pagan practices" and fetishes, and were THREATENED BY THEM. As a result, great effort was expended on eradicating these practices, and many were lost within generation.
The degree to which whites were successful in this, however, is the subject of great debate. Melville J. Hershovits has advanced the thesis that the success of Baptists in attracting blacks was rooted in the appeal of immersion which sugggests a connection in the slaves' mind withthe river of spirits in West African Religions. Others have attacked this position including, the black scholar E. Franklin Frazier who argues that enslavement largely destroyed the social basis of religion among blacks, and that the appeal of Baptists to blacks concerns the emotional content of their worship. Stanley Elkins (whose views were heavily influenced by what took place in the concentration camps of World War ll Europe), has argued--like Frazier--that slavery was so demeaning that blacks (like the Jews in the camps) were eventually stripped of dignity and humanity, including their faith. John Blassingame, on the other hand, has provided a significant body of evidence that blacks hung on to their religion as a form of resistence.
What is clear is that African-American were fairly quick to adopt the prevailing evangelical culture. Denominations such as the Episcopalians and Presbyterians stressed order did not attract the slaves. Most African-Americans instead gravitated to the emotionalism of the Methodist and Baptists. Indeed. in a number of ways the religion of the south's black population shared much more in common with the Evangelical Protestantism of the region's whites than it diverged from it. After all, it was the evangelicals among southern whites who were motivated to bring slaves to the Christian faith.
But blacks also bequeathed something black to the evangelical tradition. There is a fair body of evidence that suggests some whites copied certain practices of black worshippers. Shouting in worship, for example, was one such borrowing. Many blacks looked down on whites who shouted in worship being poor copies themselves, or in the parlance of our day, as "wanna-be's." The call and response pattern also appears to be derived from the African heritage.
Even though Black evangelcalism shared much in common with its white counterpart, when African-Americans held their services, whether approved or overseen by whites or held CLANDESTINELY, they added their own flourishes and unique styles to the white religious legacy. In so doing, they created an "invisible institution," a church that was their own. Because Black evangelicalism was not identitical to its white counterpart, the points of difference betwen the two tell us a great deal about the religious world of the slave.