The Ironic Role in Southern Slaveholding Culture In the nineteenth century, southern states continued to hold on to slavery even though the northern states had already abolished it. It was illegal for slaves to be educated, yet one slave, Frederick Douglass, learned to read and went on th write and narrative. According to Frederick Douglass in his book The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass religion could be considered ironic and controversial in Southern slaveholding culture. Although Douglass is very religious himself, he finds fault in the hypocrisy of Southern Christianity. Although Douglass finds many faults in Southern Christianity, he was very religious and was a Christian minister. In the appendix of his book,
