Jon Jones
Christianity was the religion of the slave masters in the United States, and therefore also of the slaves. However, was this religion useful to the slaves? James Cone would probably say that it was not only useful to them, but an integral part of their lives.
Cone says that the religion of the slaves was actually very different from the religion of the slave masters, but it still had its foundation in Christianity. Most of the basic things, such as the words of the bibles and the songs were kept by the slaves. Obviously, then, Christianity was at least a part of their lives in the same way religion is a part of many people’s lives. However, the religion of the slaves played a much larger role in their lives than most people’s.
Slaves readily identified with many of the ideas in the bible, such as the stories about God freeing oppressed people. They thought that He would do the same for them one day, and it helped to inspire them to act on their own to free themselves too. Justice was a strong idea for them as well, in this life and after. Interestingly enough, however, this justice didn’t really apply to the slave masters. This is because the slave masters were seen more as workers of the Devil than humans that would be judged. However, the idea of justice was still important because they knew they were being wronged now, and that this injustice would be accounted for at some point.
Perhaps most famously, the songs of Christianity were very heavily used by the slaves. They were used to inspire, to say things not supposed to be said, to worship God, and even just to express emotions. The words were the same as the gospels used in the churches, but everything else about them was different. The music itself was very different, and under constant change. The meanings were very mixed. There were the meanings that were originally intended in the songs, such as ideas about God and worship and heaven and other unworldly things like that. Many of the songs also had more mundane meaning, like escaping to the North. Some of the songs also sent messages out to other slaves, such as to gather at an assigned place to have their version of church. One of the most useful things about the songs was that they were Christian in origin, so that the slave masters were able to be fooled into thinking that they were just being worshipful. Except when slaves were simply not allowed to sing, the hidden messages the songs carried were able to be passed along in plain sight, without a worry.
Christianity, then, was obviously very useful to the slaves. It provided some important ideas and hopes. It helped give them the courage to continue on, knowing God was on their side. The songs provided a method of communication and expression. Christianity was not only useful to African American slaves, it was an integral part of their lives. For people who worked 15 hours a day and had horrible lives dictated completely by others, hope and meaning and explanations of life are vital and essential, for they give the people the will to keep going, knowing there’s a purpose, and knowing that someday things would be different.