"It Is True in More Senses Than One, That Slavery Rests upon Hell!" Embodiment, Experience, and Evil in African American Discussions of Slavery and Shareholders

To fully understand how African Americans once held in slavery challenged and redefined notions of authentic Christianity and religion, one must move beyond an approach to religion that focuses purely on the interiority of mind, intellect, soul, and belief. These nineteenth-century African Americans...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of religion 2017-07, Vol.97 (3), p.301
Main Author: Blum, Edward J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
19th century
Black history
Christianity
Good & evil
Hell
Human body
Personal experiences
Pinn, Anthony
Slavery
Smith, Mark M
Theology
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:To fully understand how African Americans once held in slavery challenged and redefined notions of authentic Christianity and religion, one must move beyond an approach to religion that focuses purely on the interiority of mind, intellect, soul, and belief. These nineteenth-century African Americans described slavery as a hellish experience that was embodied and enacted. What they saw, what they heard, what they felt physically, and how they and others behaved mattered as much as what anyone thought or believed. Here, Blum brings the insights of scholars Mark M. Smith and Anthony Pinn on the importance of senses and bodies to the study of nineteenth-century discussions of religion and slavery.
ISSN:0022-4189
1549-6538