Christianity and the Abolition of Slavery
Trace the complex and often painful relationship between Christianity and slavery — from the Bible's radical vision of human dignity to the abolitionists who fought to end the slave trade, and the unfinished work that remains.
The story of Christianity and slavery is not simple. It is a story of profound contradiction — of a faith that proclaimed the radical equality of all human beings before God, yet was used for centuries to justify the subjugation of millions. It is the story of slaveholders who quoted the Bible to defend their wealth, and of enslaved people who found in the same Bible a God who heard the cries of the oppressed and broke every chain.
This 10-day plan traces that story honestly, from the ancient world to the present day.
What to Expect
- Days 1–2 — Foundations: the image of God and slavery in the ancient world
- Days 3–4 — The transatlantic horror and the Bible weaponized
- Days 5–7 — The awakening: Quakers, Wilberforce, and the enslaved people's own reading of Scripture
- Days 8–9 — Frederick Douglass, the Civil War, and the reckoning
- Day 10 — The unfinished work: Scripture, race, and today
A Note on Approach
This plan does not sanitize the past. Christians did terrible things in the name of their faith. This plan also does not reduce Christianity to its failures. Christians — often the same people who had been enslaved — led the most significant abolition movement in human history. Both truths must be held together.
Each day includes historical narrative, two Scripture passages, quotes from primary sources and scholars, and discussion questions designed for honest, sometimes uncomfortable, group conversation.