What is Christianity, and to
whom does it belong?
Malcolm X’s claim that Christianity is merely a tool for white men is based on conquering behavior of Europeans. Throughout this behavior, he says, the European elitist belief structure of Christianity was usually used to justify their conquering. But is this really true? Is Christianity nothing more than a tool of white men to make them feel good about conquering “heathens”, or is it something more? Could it possibly have any value in the lives of African Americans?
There are several examples of where his view seems very much to be valid. For a good time period of the slave trade, Christianity wasn’t even a valid religion for an African to have. There were a number of reasons for this. One reason is that there was a moral dilemma about selling Black Christians, because they were, in fact, Christian, and this seemed to be called against in the Bible. Also, the “religious depravity of the Africans made them legitimate targets for spiritual rehabilitation through…slavery.” (Muslin Mission, 342).
Another reason that Christianity seems to be valueless in the lives of African Americans is that, even when the slaves were allowed to be Christians, and encouraged to be, the Biblical teachings taught that they were to obey their masters, and that God condoned slavery. This doesn’t seem like a religion the Africans would want to be a part of (Raboteau, 214).
The next step that seems to prove that Christianity is not something valuable to the lives of African Americans is the fact that even when black churches were allowed to develop, they were still “under the oversight of white men, for religious gatherings were prohibited by law except in the presence of…white monitors.” (Fire, 7)
However, these reasons do not necessarily prove that Christianity has no place in the lives of African Americans. Even during the time of slavery, Christianity was vital for them. Despite the fact that the official churches taught slavery to be condoned by God, secret gatherings of the slaves taught their own version of Christianity. Especially helpful to them were the tales of the Jews, who were freed by God from the slavery imposed on them by the Egyptians. This inspired them to hope that God would one day deliver them from their suffering as well (Dennis, 39).
Especially important for today’s African Americans, Christianity as they know it teaches them that one day all of God’s children will be equal. Although this has not yet come to pass, they still are able to hope and believe that they will, eventually, be treated equally. Christianity has already told them they are equal; the world just hasn’t caught up yet (Paris, 5).
Also, for many African Americans, being Christian is part of their identity. It is a source of great pride, and in many ways it seems to be a greater part of their lives than for whites. Although this is a generalization, Black Christians seem to place a great deal of value in their religious lives, which means they put a great deal of value in Christianity (Fire, 3).
For me, the question of Christianity’s value in African American life is clear: it not only has value, it is vital for many of them. Although for many other religions fulfill their spiritual needs, Christianity still has significant value for the rest. Their Christian church is part of their social lives, their Christian morals serve to shape their behavior, and their Christian crosses serve as a reminder to the world that Christianity, at least to them, has a great deal of value.