In the 1700s, Anglicans, Methodists, Baptists, and Quakers were very active in evangelism and conversion. They reached out to Black people who were slaves and who were free to teach and baptize them. Slaveowners who supported evangelizing Black folks had different motives: rooting out what they saw as paganism and idolatry; teaching morality; convincing slaves that the Bible commanded obedience; and some preachers taught that slaves should know Christ and be freed from slavery.
Many slaveowners began to have misgivings about Christian slaves. Some required their slaves to attend churches with white preachers. So, some slaves held their own services in secret. One man, Litt Young, had been a slave in Mississippi in the 19th century. He said that the preacher would say: “obey [your] master and missy if [you] want to go to Heaven,” when the slaveowners were there, but as soon as they left, the preacher would, “come out with straight preachin’ from the Bible.” Now there were stories about Moses and the Exodus; about spiritual equality and Jesus loving everyone and salvation making you truly free.
I’m guessing that message wasn’t too popular with pro-slavery Christians before the Civil War. They got anxious about what slaves were doing when no one was watching. What if they were claiming to hold church services, but they were actually plotting violent revolts? Different states passed laws making it illegal for slaves to come together for “feasts and burials” – no holidays or even funerals. South Carolina passed a law in 1800 that made it illegal for any nonwhite folks to gather for education or religious worship – even if white folk were present. A Georgia law from 1848 made it illegal for nonwhites to preach. And yet, enslaved people kept meeting for worship. In Christ they were not hated or less than.
Sources:
*https://slaveryandremembrance.org/articles/article/?id=A0059
*https://civilwar.vt.edu/religion-and-resistance-in-enslaved-communities/
*https://accessgenealogy.com/georgia/slave-narrative-of-mrs-celestia-avery.htm
*https://www.jstor.org/stable/25664424
*https://www.searchablemuseum.com/illegal-to-preach/
