Summary: The Antebellum Debate

The Antebellum Debate over Slavery, a questionable topic, split the nation and the church into separate entities. Whether Christians believed slavery was morally correct cannot be answered with a simple “yes” or “no”. It may have been a surprise that some religious traditions have not always been opposed to what today is clearly judged as a “heinous social evil: slavery.” It has been historically argued that the role of Christianity played parts in both the promotion and abolition of slavery. Note that this is not a judgment or self-righteous criticism to those who came before, but an understanding of their lives during that time that affected their beliefs. Lincoln describes the centrality of religion to the crisis of the union, “both read the same Bible, and pray to same God”, but still hold different beliefs. The question is then: how did two entirely opposed views develop from the same core belief? Why did some people read the Bible and conclude that it …show more content…
There were many factors and obstacles that pushed congregations to side with supporters of slavery, whether it was the threat of loosing creditability within the church or loss of financial support. Slavery was debated in religious and moral terms, by using the Bible to support either position. The only problem was how misinterpreted it was, whether it was poor leadership or a weakness in society, it still caused people to think in society’s terms, rather then God’s. Do we still have similar problems today? Groups are breaking off of their denomination, and establishing a new one, or people leaving their congregations due to conflicting beliefs. Especially with so many social issues people face today, it is a moral struggle to stay united, just as it was the same for our ancestors to stay united over the issue of