AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDIES

African American Religion in America in the 1800's



African American Religion in America in the 1800's

Introduction

The act of religious revivals took place in the middle of the eighteenth century. The religious revival quickly swept over the colonies of America. The impact of the religious revival was it resulted in the doctrinal change as well as stimulated and provoked social as well as political thoughts. It was able to have a permanent effect on the religion of America. The act or the revival was also termed as the Great Awakening. This act made Christianity as a religion extremely personal to everyone. It also fostered an intense sense of religious belief and reclamation. It also encouraged and introduced the concept of self-analysis according to the theological perspective and induced a sense committal to the newly established benchmark of personal morality. Consequently, the Second Great Awakening also occurred in the early 19 century. The movement began in the 1800's. It introduced a set of reforms which was aimed at removing the evils from the society (www.encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com).

The impact of the Great Awakening

The First Great awakening eventually led to a major change and a revolution took place. In the lower county, the Baptist in the northern side and the Methodist preachers aided in converting whites and blacks into Christianity, enslaved them as well as gave them freedom. The blacks were given a warm welcome and were asked to play an active role in the congregations as well as become preachers. The first church of Baptist was made in Virginia in the southern site. It was later also made in the southern side of Carolina along with Georgia. Two Baptist churches were made in Virginia in Petersburg. The result or the consequence of the revival movements was that many left the religion that was followed by the forefathers. This ethos helped willing people for the American Revolution.

The people who were behind the revivals did not challenge the slavery that existed. They preached anyone and everyone regardless of the caste, race or creed they belonged to. They welcomed converts from the black community as well as the white community. The message of Christianity was spreading across about equality. Some slave owners resisted this message and preaching but as the message further spread along. Few of the slave owners were influenced and they considered teaching their slaves the bible.

The African American resident played a crucial role in the process of their own conversion. They were brought to USA and in the beginning they resisted the conversion of the religion which their forefathers had been following. Later as they started living in the American soil, they accepted Christianity. They had a dual purpose of doing it. One was that they found the religion to be acceptable and secondly accepting the religion Christianity was a major process of accepting USA as home. Overtime, many slave owners, started the practice of teaching their slaves Biblical teachings, the African American slaves found the message appealing and hence converted to Christianity ...