The Effects of Christianity on Traditional African Religions

Since the introduction of slavery in the Americas in the early 1600’s, Christianity has had a powerful effect on the African American culture. When the European settlers discovered the communities in Africa, they saw opportunities for advancement of their society. The African Americans were forcibly and involuntarily brought to America to work as slaves under a new authority. At first, few were converted because of the white mans’ aversion to and fear of black Christians, and the notion of them acquiring legal rights. Yet, African Americans resisted very little to conversion; it was only a matter of time before the slaves began to assume Christian identities. Christianity first acted as a slight justification of slavery but then became a stepping-stone toward African American emancipation from it. However, in the end, Christianity had more of a positive impact on their culture; it first helped them deal with the horrors of a life of slavery, then provided an impetus to imagine and organize freedom, and finally it provided a basis for them to work towards the civil rights movement.

Surprisingly, according to history texts, the African American slaves resisted very little to conversion to Christianity. Many were told that it was their duty to be a slave and that if they complied, they would be granted the right of passage into heaven. Scriptural passages in the Bible pointed out that slaves must be obedient and that there is a path to freedom. Even though there was little resistance to conversion, most priests and missionaries spent their time converting whites. Moreover, a slave at this time needed to have his master’s permission to be baptized. Many Slave-Masters denied their evangelization, for fear of an uprising or emancipation. (Raboteau, 222) It was the religion of the people around the slaves that enabled them to witness the many positive and negative sides of Christianity at this time.
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