Religion and Slavery - Solo Project

 While religion often provides strong moral foundations for living, a rather concerning fact remains to this day; Slavery has been a major factor in the development of modern civilization just as long as religion. Although god-fearing religions such as Christianity, Judaism, or Islam promote kindness and respect to others, slavery has existed in areas where these religions were practiced.

In America, the debate over slavery was based on religion from both sides. While the North wished to abolish the practice, the South wanted to keep the practice alive, using the Bible for support. According to ushistory.org, the defenders of slavery argued that Abraham owned slaves, and that the practice continued through the Roman Empire during and past Jesus’s lifetime. The defenders even argued that slavery was good for the slaves from Africa, as the slave trade was introducing Christianity to West Africa and lesser developed civilization. During the Antebellum era of southern America, Christianity was a way of life and, unfortunately, slavery was too.

In Islam, slavery is not abolished in the Quran. Throughout the Islamic and even pre-Islamic world, slavery was common. Although the Islamic approach to slavery keeps retains the humanity in the slaves, the basic principles are still the same.  

Islam has always been more giving towards slaves though. The religion has always depicted slaves as people rather than objects, and places more value on their being. Along with this, Islam only allowed certain groups to be slaves and banned the mistreatment of slaves. According to BBC, slavery in Islam is still permitted under very certain conditions.

Christianity has shifted away from slavery as well, especially in the southern United States since the Civil War. In the modern day, the Antebellum era is over, which has led to a reinterpretation of the Bible for southern Christians. The teachings of Jesus promote kindness and fair treatment to all, regardless of race or social stature.  

Although slavery has existed for thousands of years, religion has changed with the times. Though religion has been used to support slavery in the past, modern religions have done away with the practice of slavery.