I find, since reading over the foregoing Narrative, that I have, in several instances, spoken in such a tone and manner, respecting religion, as may possibly lead those unacquainted with my religious views to suppose me an opponent of all religion. To remove the liability of such misapprehension, I deem it proper to append the following brief explanation. What I have said respecting and against religion, I mean strictly to apply to the _slaveholding religion_ of this land, and with no possible reference to Christianity proper; for, between the Christianity of this land, and the Christianity of Christ, I recognize the widest possible difference--so wide, that to receive the one as good, pure, and holy, is of necessity to reject the
other as bad, corrupt, and wicked.
In My Bondage and My Freedom, published ten years later in 1855, Douglass addresses this topic in such a way that he no longer feels the need to include a similar explanatory appendix. We might assume that Douglass's refashioning of his biography gives him a chance to include this discussion directly in the text properHow does Douglass, then, balance Christian theology with his views on morality in general and of the immorality of the South and slavery? There are many ways to address this question. It is complicated question. We might consider Douglass's occasional calls for revolutionary action in My Bondage and My Freedom, like the one below:
The slaveholder, kind or cruel, is a slaveholder still--the every hour violator of the just and inalienable rights of man; and he is, therefore, every hour silently whetting the knife of vengeance for his own throat. He never lisps a syllable in commendation of the fathers of this republic, nor denounces any attempted oppression of himself,
without inviting the knife to his own throat, and asserting the rights of rebellion for his own slaves. (197)
This worldview, at least on the surface, does not appear to be the position of Uncle Lawson, whom Douglass describes as "my chief instructor, in matters of religion" and "my spiritual father" (124).
There are other ways to consider this as well. Discussions of God and Christianity appear throughout My Bondage and My Freedom in nearly every chapter.
I believe Douglass' views on religion and morality are clearly seperate. Douglass' views on religion and God evolve throughout his novel. As a child he first believed that God did make slaveholders white and slaves black, but he did not believe God meant for them to be cruel. Later on in the novel, Douglass changes his views and no longer believes God created slaveholders. He believes slavery to be man made by those who love power.
ReplyDeleteRegarding morality, Douglass does not believe there is any morality for those enslaved. He believes morality is for the free man and as long as slaves are enslaved they are not to blame for their actions; however their slaveholders are accountable. He believes the slaves actions are a direct result of what the slaveholders want and expect, therefore any action, no matter how severe, is the slaveholders fault.
As the novel goes on Douglass discusses rebellion and getting even with slaveholders a lot more frequently. Uncle Lawson tries to steer Douglass away from taking direct action and instead wants Douglass to put the slaveholder's fate into God's hands, but Douglass cannot accept that. He does not want to wait for God to handle things; Douglass wants action now.
Great post.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this is a difficult question, but I do agree with Sam that Douglass views the two ideas/subjects very differently. I believe that Douglass follows Uncle Lawson's advice/beliefs for a period of time because it is his "dear friend." Also, I think he follows this belief because it is the only hope he has in surviving. Douglass does not believe that there is any way for him to escape this life that he has been granted.. as awful as that sounds.
ReplyDeleteAs Sam says, Uncle Lawson tries to sway Douglass from rebelling, but Douglass begins to feel that believing in and praising God is not enough. He feels God is not helping him out of this cruel and awful lifestyle, so he decides to take matters into his own hands, and he begins to believe in himself and his own morality. He starts thinking for himself and realizes that morality is something he could, and SHOULD, have.
Douglass's view on religion plays almost a crucial part in his novel. On the basis of slavery he uses religion as a method of why the whites are in charge, or why there is even slavery at all. Through his younger years he was taught that is was God who said the whites would be masters and the blacks would be slaves. Douglass was also told that through this, God said it would be good and was best for the blacks to be slaves. Using his own morals, Douglass questions the information he was told. The ideas he included in the novel were those of "how do people know God said that?" The idea of slavery coming from God himself made Douglass unable to "reconcile the relation of slavery."
ReplyDeleteAs I continue to read Uncle Tom's Cabin, I can not but help to think of Douglass' work every time there is a section discussing the Bible. Stowe's novel comments at length on the debate of whether the Bible justifies the slave system or highlights the hypocrisy of slaveholders and the Christian nation in general in relation to slavery.
ReplyDeleteDouglass had noted that the more pious a slaveholder seemed to be in his religious beliefs, the more evil he was able to excuse himself for. In Uncle Tom's Cabin, Eva really exemplifies a character that can fully label herself as a Christian in both her words and actions. That is why her fate is such a pity... The reader finally gets a character that allows her religious beliefs to truly shape her actions and attempts to do what little she can for the slaves that she knows. She displays this in many ways: in her patience, forgiveness, and mercy toward Topsey, her perseverance in teaching Mammy and Uncle Tom to read, and her absolute kindness to everyone she encounters.
Eva proves her father wrong in that one person can make a difference in the life a slave or the slave system in general. Even if it is only a short time, Eva's behavior seems to alter that of her cousin Henrique and her love for Topsey seems to have a positive effect. Her actions hold a mirror up to the other people around her to rethink how they act and challenge themselves to be better people. If only her mother could somehow benefit from all of this...She is like a impenetrable brick wall that is only concerned with its own existence.
The religion/ morality issues could be viewed either separately or together in Douglass's autobiography, but the way I saw it they went pretty much hand in hand (at least in one instance that I recall). The section they seem to go together in was his discussion of Master Thomas's conversion to Christianity. The way Douglass learned about Christianity was focused (at least at one point... I get his various religious views mixed up) strongly on the abolishment of slavery. Douglass's view on religion, then, related to morality, was that one cannot be a Christian and own slaves at the same time. Also related to the conversion of Master Thomas, Douglass viewed him as highly corrupt (perhaps even contemptable), and argued that his actions were unconscionable, as he didn't even seem to profess having any guilt over still owning slaves, while at the same time claiming to be a pious man.
ReplyDeleteSo, for Douglass, morality, in this way at least, was anchored to religion very strongly. In this passage of his master's conversion he seems to be of the mind that a person can not be immoral and still obtain any kind of religious truth or understanding. In general, Douglass seemed to have some kind of religion (although his views changed so often that I can't really say what they were, ultimately), but, as I believe he mentioned at some point, his religion was very different from southern religion in general. His Christianity was his own, and probably more closely tied with the north, than it was to the south. These varying views just go back to what he said about the differences of religion, that "between the Christianity of this land, and the Christianity of Christ, I recognize the widest possible difference".
While reading My Bondage and My Freedom, I got the sense that true Christianity and slavery are opposing forces and one cannot be present while the other exists. I feel that Douglass was trying to say that slavery corrupts the true vision of Christianity. For example, when Douglass was younger he believed that god made slaves, and it was gods will that he was separated from his family and forced into slavery. This is not true in Christian eyes, and because Douglass was enslaved it corrupted his perception of Christianity.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me, throughout the novel there is a shift from “true to false” Christianity. What Douglass thinks is true about religion, turns false because of slavery. He knows that the slaveholders will pay eternally for their sins, but he shutters to think that God has helped him along through his journey.
I think Douglass' views on morality and religion go hand-in-hand for parts of the novel. This becomes clear when Douglass converses with Uncle Lawson. Douglass made it clear that he didn't want to wait around for God to punish the slaveholders, and that he had to do something. At the same time, this could tie in with his views on morality. He is sure that it is fine for a slave to revolt because it is the slaveholder who will be punished. In this scene, Douglass is mixing his thoughts of what is right and wrong for the slaves and slaveholders, and who will be punished. While he doesn't constantly do it, there are times, such as this one, where Douglass mixes his thoughts on morality with that of religion.
ReplyDelete