The doctrine of Christianity grants eternal life to all persons who accept that Jesus

Christ is the Son of God, and choose to follow him. Such a statement leaves little room for
interpretation of the scripture itself. Nevertheless, the nineteenth century Christian churches of
the Caribbean Islands created a racial distinction between humans which determined who
could and who could not be granted eternal life through the Christian faith. This concept of
race was based on the belief that fricans were intellectually unable to ma!e an educated
decision regarding personal religion. "lanters supported this discrimination against their
wor!ers because then they did not have to be cruel to fellow Christians. Two !inds of
Christianity e#isted in the Caribbean during the nineteenth century. "lanters and the church of
the elite, mainly the nglican church upheld a Christian faith that served mainly to $ustify the
wealth of the ruling class, and the oppression of the enslaved peoples. The other side of the
Christian religion served to promote the religious education of the slaves by operating under
the non%traditional belief that all men were worthy of hearing the gospel, and ma!ing a choice
for or against Christianity. This underground form of Christianity more closely represents the
true ideals of the Christian faith, and grossly illuminates the corruption of Christianity at the
hands of the planters.
&uring slavery many families were separated' fathers, mothers and children were
attached to different plantations with the result that some never saw their family members
again. The responsibility of bringing up the children rested primarily with the mothers and
grandmothers. This situation gave rise to a matriarchal type of family which is still common in
the Caribbean today. (ormerly slaves had little or no !nowledge or opportunity of legal
marriages. )*ater they were informed by the missionaries+. The slave owners did not
encourage the institution of marriage. It was felt that the strength and power of the marriage
union would offer a threat to the "lantation System. Concubinage was encouraged as it was
believed that this frail type of union would !eep the negroes humble and complacent. &espite
the rapid social changes ta!ing place, common%law marriages and concubinage are still
present in Caribbean and will perhaps be for a long time.
&uring the latter part of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century
),-./%,.,/+ there was a large movement of people from Jamaica to Cuba, "anama, Costa
0ica and the 1nited States of merica in search of $obs. (athers travelled away from their
families leaving mothers to be solely responsible for the upbringing of their children. &uring
the ,.2/s there was an e#odus of Jamaicans to 3ngland. These included both fathers and
mothers, and so, many children were left to be cared for by their grandmothers and other
relatives.
lthough families differ in form according to the society, they nevertheless are
responsible for carrying out certain functions. The chief of these are'
,. "rocreation or reproduction % for continuation of the species.
4. Socialisation which includes %education, religion, preparation for a career, learning
social relationships, management of leisure and being a responsible citi5en.
6. "roviding the basic needs of food, shelter, clothing, health care and love.
7. Transmitting the culture' that is, passing on the language, ideas, beliefs and
attitudes, goals and values.
2. "reventing incest, by regulating !inship relationships
8. Conferring Status'
Status may be of 4 !inds, namely'
)a+ derived' that is, inherited li!e family name, language and speech, schooling,
relationships and privileges.
)b+ ac9uired' that is earned by the individual from the society based on the individual:s
own performance.
(amily functions are more or less universal, in that families through%out the world are
e#pected to perform these functions for the ;enefit chiefly of their family members and the
community. (amily roles are determined within the social setting of the family and are
performed by individual family members. (amilies all over the world perform the functions
outlined before, regardless of the society in which they live. Individual, family members,
however, have different roles which they perform from day to day for the welfare of the family
as a whole and the members in particular.
0oles of a generali5ed nature are attributed to certain family members' for e#ample
father as breadwinner, house!eeper, counsellor and caring person, depending on
circumstances and family situation. <ther family members li!e teenagers and grandparents
can contribute from their earnings and pensions respectively to family income and encourage
habits of thrift. <ther roles include special household tas!s li!e meal preparation and service,
cleaning, sanitation, coring for pets, some of which con be performed by younger family
members. =ounger family members also add to the family:s aesthetic values by their music,
drama and other art forms.
"arents: roles include development of spiritual values, guidance in educational and
social development, as well as giving assistance in forming good personal relationships.
In summary family roles include' sharing and performing home tas!s pooling resources,
pooling resources, assuming supporting roles, meeting family needs, recogni5ing individual
rights, assuming role of breadwinner, helping to establish values.
The church of the elites struggled to $ustify the role of slavery in contemporary
Caribbean life. This church, primarily of the nglican denomination sought only to supplicate
its financial supporters, so that its future e#istence would be insured. The $ustification of
slavery went bac! far into biblical history. 0eferences to slavery litter the <ld Testament of the
;ible, creating arguments for the support of slavery. >any men of the <ld Testament such as
braham, &avid, and >oses referred to themselves as slaves of the *ord. ?owever, these men
referred to slavery as a voluntary condition, which one entered into by agreement and belief
that the *ord would reap benefits upon those who bowed to ?im. These definitions of slavery
also focus more at the spiritual being than the physical being. ?owever, the Israelites twisted
this notion of slavery into the sub$ugation of other peoples, because they had been named the
*ord:s chosen people. >oses wrote in the boo! of *eviticus'
@s for your male and female slaves whom you may have % you may ac9uire male and
female slaves from the pagan nations that are around you. AThen, too, it is out of the sons of
so$ourners who live as aliens among you that you may gain ac9uisition, and out of their
families who are with you, whom they will have produced in your landB they also may become
your possession. A=ou may even be9ueath them to your sons after you, to receive as a
possessionB you can use them as permanent slaves. ;ut in respect to your countrymen, the
sons of Israel, you shall not rule with severity over one another.C);ible, *eviticus 42'77%78+
The Jews interpreted this passage as a license to own slaves and a reaffirmation of their
superiority over other nations )and races+. The <ld Testament offered little to contradict the
institution of slavery as it became an approved fi#ture within society. )&avis, ,.88, p.86%82+
ncient biblical theology interpreted the slavery of the Jews in 3gypt as a necessary period of
bondage in preparation for freedom. Slavery, therefore, was a step towards salvation and
freedom, not a permanent bondage. ?owever freedom was not easy to come by for the slaves.
>any slave women wanted their freedom and the freedom of their children. They wanted also
to do housewor! and be free from the toils of field labour as well as to escape the economic
hardship of slavery. So they submitted to the se#ual advances of the planters and slave
masters, and bore them children outside of wedloc!. similar pattern e#ists today )even
though to a lesser e#tent+ where positions and special considerations are e#changed for se#ual
favours. This passage in *eviticus represented one of the earliest $ustifications of the slavery of
another people. ;ecause the Jews had suffered under slavery, now others were destined to
follow the same path, to one day achieve their freedom. The New Testament, containing the
teachings of Jesus Christ discredited this earlier $ustification of slavery by redefining the Jews:
definition of slavery. Jesus used the term in a much broader conte#t. The postle John wrote'
@Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed ?im, DIf you abide in >y
word, then you are truly disciples of >ineB and you shall !now the truth, and the truth shall
ma!e you free.D They answered ?im, DEe are braham:s offspring, and have never yet been
enslaved to anyoneB how is it that =ou say, A=ou shall become free:FD Jesus answered them,
DTruly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. nd the slave does not
remain in the house foreverB the son does remain forever.C);ible, John -'6,%62+
Jesus here e#tended the definition of slavery to e#tend beyond physical bondage. The
Jews, having lived with the righteous belief that they were the chosen people, never
considered themselves to be in bondage to anything. Jesus, and his follower "aul, taught that
there e#isted two forces over men, God and Satan, and that humans lay in a perpetual state
of bondage to either of these two forces. Therefore, from the Christian perspective, true
freedom came only when one pledged oneself fully to the will of God, becoming in essence a
slave or servant to God:s Eord. The alternative to this slavery was slavery to sin, which
deceived individuals because it allowed people to do whatever they wished to do. Such free
choice normally denotes freedom, not a slavery. Therefore, slavery became inevitable, the only
issue was to what would an individual choose to enslave him or herself.
This theology came as a double%edged sword to both pro%slavery and anti%slavery
movements. Jesus: teaching inferred that all men were e9ual before the *ord, and sub$ect to
both God and Satan. This held owners and planters as e9uals, a strong point for anti%slavery
movements. (or slavery advocates, the fact that Christian slaves were to accept their
condition as ordained by God discouraged slave revolt, and encouraged the peaceful
continuance of the slave society. ?uman e#istence on earth should not matter to Christians,
having been assured eternal life after death. If Christians fought for emancipation, either for
themselves, or for others, they too! responsibility away from God and placed it with
themselves, denying their faith in their deliverance.
"aul:s 3pistle to "hilemon discusses the issue of slavery directly. This letter instructs
"hilemon to ta!e bac! <nesimus, a former slave of "hilemon, whom "aul had converted to
Christianity. "aul as!ed "hilemon to treat <nesimus as a spiritual brother, not as a
bondservant. ;y obeying "aul:s instruction, <nesimus: bondage to "hilemon would not have
carried the connotations that slavery carry today. Ehile <nesimus would remain sub$ect to
"hilemon for employment, an atmosphere of e#ploitation would not have e#isted. This theory
relied on both the master and slave maintaining a solid religious basis in Christianity. (or
planters and slaves in the nineteenth century Caribbean, a mutual understanding of Christian
beliefs did not e#ist, and was prevented from e#isting by sections of the Christian church.
Therefore, the conception that the Christian church condoned slavery is only partially correct.
Ehile the Christian faith does allow for slavery, it does not allow for slavery under the
conditions that e#isted in the Caribbean. The nglican church however, ignored the New
Testament teachings in order to support their patrons, the planter class. The church, though
charged by the 3uropean monarchies with instructing the slaves in Christian practices, too! an
uninterested approach to missions wor! with the fricans. The planters wished to avoid the
Christiani5ation of their slaves, thus becoming guilty of abusing fellow Christians in the eyes of
God. This tailoring of Christianity to fit a certain predetermined set of circumstances, and
complacent attitude towards the religious responsibilities to the slaves mar!ed the deep
corruption of the Christian church.
s slavery established itself in the region, a difference between "rotestant and Catholic
theologies developed on the religious treatment of slaves. The Catholic nations of Spain and
"ortugal employed priests to perform rudimentary baptisms on the slaves, usually before they
departed from the frican continent. This practice ensured that the Catholics had completed
their responsibility of AChristiani5ing: their slaves. In fact, the slaves received no instruction in
the Christian faith, and certainly did not understand the rituals performed by the Catholic
priests. The "rotestants, on the other hand, discouraged religious education of slaves because
of statutes within the "rotestant church forbidding the ownership and e#ploitation of fellow
Christians. They also felt that their safety and security rested upon the ignorance of their
wor!ers. If slaves were educated and given !nowledge, the slave owners worried that their
$ustifications of slavery would fall under attac! from the oppressed class, e#actly what had
already happened on mainland 3urope during the political revolutions of the late eighteenth
century. This belief ran directly against true Christian teaching, which said that the slaves,
upon good Christian education would reali5e their position within society and would wor! in
return for fair treatment as described above.
3ven if the slaves had been granted a Christian education by the "rotestants, it is
unli!ely they would have received better treatment. >ost plantations focused on the
production of sugar, re9uiring grueling fieldwor! by slave gangs. To convert this labor to a
more civili5ed schedule, allowing wor!ers free time, and proper food and shelter would have
raised the costs of plantation operation e#orbitantly for the planters. The owners of these
plantations, mostly absent from the region cared only for profits, and money. ny cost not
directly resulting in more income was deemed unnecessary. The maltreatment of the slaves
was further encouraged by the low prices for slaves. It became more economical to wor!
slaves to death than to care for them. Eith such conditions, it was not surprising that few
slave owners allowed Christian education for the slaves. )?art, ,.-/, pg.,,.+
The large institutional religions of 3urope were not the only Christian influences in the
Caribbean at this time. <ther denominations such as the ;aptists, >oravians, and >ethodists
established missions programs throughout the Caribbean ;asin to educate the slaves
independently. These religious groups offered a strong political base to the slaves as well,
becoming more of a political institution than a religious one. Nonetheless, the slaves loo!ed to
the Christian faith as means to freedom from the oppression of servitude. Such movements to
educate the slaves did not meet with the approval of the plantation masters, fearful of the
growing education and political identity that the slaves gained through the church.
Slaveowners convinced the Jamaican parliament to pass an ordinance in ,-/G forbidding any
unlicensed minister to Dpreach or teach, or offer up in public prayer, or sing psalms.D "enalties
for brea!ing this ordinance ranged from ,// "ounds to si# months imprisonment in the
wor!house. To further curtail slave participation in religious ceremonies, parliament further
restricted worship practices for all island inhabitants. This ordinance, restricting worship during
the free hours of slaves, attempted to discourage participation among slaves in religious
gatherings. Such measures against these Christian religions proved pointless, and eventually
the slave owners turned to their own form of education to attempt to ta!e control of their
slaves religious life. This teaching consisted of the basic belief in Jesus, neglecting any
theological study or bac!ground to empower the slaves into the effects and responsibilities of
Christianity. The slave owners though professing to follow the Christian faith, actually were
more cultural Christians than religious Christians, and instead of educating the slaves in the
religious Christian sense, they preferred to ma!e the slaves cultural Christians, so they would
not be inclined to follow the ;ible religiously, and then reali5e the full implications of Jesus:
teaching on slavery.
The nglican and Catholic churches, in deference to their desire to remain in the good
graces of the ruling class did not actively rally against these laws. ?owever, other Christian
denominations continued undeterred by the laws and unfavorable conditions put forth by the
ruling class. The >oravians were the first missionary group to e#ert an influence upon the
Negros of Jamaica. 3stablishing themselves as early as ,G27, these missionaries, did not
upset the slave owners primarily because they e#hibited a very poor trac! record in terms of
evangeli5ing and conversions. ;y ,-/7, the >oravians claimed only .6- converts in 2/ years
of Christian teaching.)"atterson, ,.8G, pg. 4/.+ s a result, the slave owners did not actively
prosecute the >oravians in the preaching.
The >ethodists established a missionary unit in ,G-. and 9uic!ly made more of an
impact among white, free blac!, and slave population on Jamaica. This interest e#hibited by
free blac!s upset the white landowners because it gave the blac!s, albeit free, a central
organi5ational unit from which to gain power. The slaveowners operated solely out of self%
protection of their plantations, and because they !new that treatment of the slaves was
abhorrent, they wore worried that those e#ploited might rise up against their power. This
admission loo!s psychologically into the minds of the slaveowners, showing their !nowledge of
unfair treatment and coercion, and their guilt at inflicting it upon another human being. Thus
came the undeniably different attitude held by the owners towards the >ethodists.
The ;aptist faith also established a very strong foothold in Jamaica over a period of
time. Their movement began in ,G-7 with an e#%slave from the 1nited States, George *iele,
who received his freedom from his master because of his fine preaching ability. ?e established
a church in Hingston, from which he built many congregations all over the nation. The wide
appeal of the ;aptist faith, came from in part, its blac! ministers who identified with the plight
of the slaves. This interest within the ;aptist church eventually led to a great split in the
church, with half following the traditional, orthodo# teachings of *iele, and the other half
adapting the message to their own needs. )"atterson, ,.8G, pg. 4,4+
>issionaries of these churches faced many adversities in bringing their message to the
frican peoples. Those clergy who wished to instruct the slaves oftentimes could not gain
access to the slaves because planters would not grant the slaves any free time to study
religion, or even to till their own plots. )0ussell%Eood, ,.-4, pg.,6/+
The ma$ority of slaves come from Eest frica where polygamy was practiced, i.e. one
man having many wives. They all shared the some compound with their husband who was the
father of their children. Some frican tribes chose their chief because of his virility and
physical prowess. man:s virility was based on the number of his offspring, especially males.
In our society today, it is not uncommon to find men who boost about the number of children
they have to show off their virility. Not $ust these cultural differences was the barrier to an
effective slave education. The language was another. Newly%arrived slaves were unable to
understand the "ortuguese, Spanish or 3nglish instruction. The clergy was reluctant to use
e#perienced slaves with !nowledge of 3uropean languages for fear that as translators, they
would ta!e advantage of the situation to spread false doctrine.
These religious movements among the slaves too! hold within the younger generations
of wor!ers. <lder people tended to be so browbeaten, that they could not worry themselves
with theological and spiritual issues, and focused more on the immediate problems of day%to%
day living. >any couplesI e#cuse for producing large families is the cultural practice of mothers
:having out their lot:. This practice contributes to over%population and inability of a people to
develop to their highest potential. It can even lead to suffering with children being the chief
victims. large proportion of the Caribbean population is below wor!ing age. In Jamaica in
,../, 2/J of the total population was below the age of 4/. In countries with such a young
population, there is heavy burden on the wor!ing group. ge structure also has an effect on
educational levels, and conse9uently on lifestyle and standard of living. >aintaining a desirable
standard of education places heavy burden on the country. Communities that have a high ratio
of school children to wor!ing adults e#perience great economic strain.
=oung people are therefore often urged to brea! loose from cultural practices that could
be destructive to them. They are encouraged to develop self%esteem, and attitudes and habits
that will improve their environment. This will have a good effect on their own lives and that of
their families.
Those who became more involved with Christianity and the various religious sects
associated the religion with the social cause for emancipation. This connection however was
seen only from the side of the slaves. The church, largely wished to avoid heavy political
situations while attempting to spread the Gospel amongst the captive peoples.)Turner, ,.-4,
pg..+
The slaves interpreted this movement correctly as going against the will of their
masters, and therefore good for the slaves and good for their freedom. The slaves therefore
developed a psychological connection between the church and their freedom, and used the
church to achieve that goal. <nce the slaves became free, their connections to the church fell
off drastically, having used the church to achieve their desired goal. This represented the fact
that the slaves did not attach themselves religiously to the Christian faith, but became more
cultural Christians intent upon using the church to further their own ends. fter emancipation
many of the e#%slaves deserted the estates to improve their living conditions, and to ac9uire a
sense of independence from their former bosses. Eith the help of missionaries, large numbers
of them purchased small plots of land, up to five acres, while a few s9uatted on crown lands or
on lands belonging to absentee owners. The missionaries encouraged marriage among these
freed people who were by that time establishing families. >any of the holdings were
inaccessible to mar!ets so those farmers with don!eys would buy from other farmers. The
food would then be transported by the peasants themselves or by higglers. Today, still this
pattern e#ists, but truc!s and buses are used instead of don!eys. This practice provides
financial support for the family, but it is not without its conse9uences. ?ere are two'
K Children are !ept from school to care for younger sibling )s+ or to help with
preparation of the produce for mar!et.
K Children are often left to care for themselves while their parents are away selling food
or gathering food for mar!et. *ac! of supervision often produces negative results.
Ironically, the planters achieved the overall goal they wished to achieve, albeit not in
the final form they had planned. ;y supporting the la# and unenthusiastic effort by the
nglican clergy to Christiani5e the slaves, the slave owners ensured what they thought would
be a peaceful wor! force, unburdened with the bothers of religion. ?owever, this same policy
allowed for other missionary groups to enter the Caribbean, to fill the void created by the
e#isting churches in serving the Christian needs of the frican peoples. This in turn spar!ed
underground religious movements within the slave population, which eventually led to large
scale organi5ation and emancipation. Therefore, the issue of the withholding of Christianity
from the slaves by the owners became a crucial 9uestion in terms of its wisdom. Ehile it
solved the short term difficulties of providing the education and overall better living and
wor!ing conditions for the slaves, it created a long term, insurmountable problem for the
planters, allowing the slaves to become organi5ed against their oppressors.
Instead of using Christianity as a means to inform and educate, the planters saw it as
an enemy which would prevent the collection of profits. Clearly, the planters did not serve as a
good representative of the true religious beliefs of Christianity in the enslaved Caribbean.
Ehen given a choice between God and money, they made a clear choice, which in hindsight
from the point of view of the planters was incorrect. ny arguments for slavery used by the
slaveowners came from as $ustification for economic gain which violates the very nature of the
;ible, a collection of boo!s for spiritual gain. In fact, true Christian missionaries operating in
the Caribbean, spurred organi5ation and mobili5ation of the slaves through the teaching,
although that was not their intent. The planters, see!ing absolution from sin, pretending that
their slaves were in some way not created e9ual, or were unworthy of Christian education,
actually lay in bondage to their sin as Christians in failing to spread the word of Jesus Christ.
Some interpretations of the outcome might say that God brought down the ruling class and
liberated the poor through emancipation because of the sin and cruelty of the planters. Jesus
recogni5ed the plight of the poor and oppressed, and comforted them specifically in his
Sermon on the >ount. <thers might point to the growing secular outrage at the infringement
of personal liberty and freedom which triggered the end of slavery. In any regard, the
institution of Christianity found itself on both sides of the slavery issue. It was employed by
the slave owners to $ustify the bondage of the slaves, as well as by the slaves themselves as a
path to freedom. Issues of slavery within the Christian faith deserve a close e#amination, as
they neither call for the total freedom, nor total physical slavery of the nineteenth century
Caribbean. Christianity refers to slavery for the most part as a spiritual issue, not the physical
issue created by the e#ploitationist elites of the nineteenth century against the innocent
fricans.
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