Question - what was the role of religion in the debate over slavery?
ANSWER : The role that religion played in the debate over slavery was very important. Although slavery was virtually universal throughout every human cultures throughout centuries, it was the Christians who initially came up with the conclusion that it was wrong. The social historian writes " Although it has been fashionable to deny it, anti-slavery doctrines began to appear in Christian theology soon after the decline of Rome and were accompanied by the eventually disappearance of slavery in all but the fringes of Christian Europe. When Europeans subsequently instituted slavery in the New World, they did so over strenuous papal opposition, a fact that was conveniently 'lost' from history until recently. Finally, the abolition of New World slavery was initiated and achieve by Christians activist."
Christians began to work for the abolition of slavery because they saw it as a violation of the will of God, not because of their general understanding of the human rights. Older forms of indentured servant-hood and the bond service of Biblical times had often been harsh, but Christian abolition concluded that raced based, life long chattel slavery, established throughout kidnapping, could not be squared with Biblical either in the Old Testament or the New.
Christians began to work for the abolition of slavery because they saw it as a violation of the will of God, not because of their general understanding of the human rights. Older forms of indentured servant-hood and the bond service of Biblical times had often been harsh, but Christian abolition concluded that raced based, life long chattel slavery, established throughout kidnapping, could not be squared with Biblical either in the Old Testament or the New.