Religion supplied slaveholders moral sanction rather than conscience for cruelty

Evidence

Douglass notes that he initially welcomed the news of Auld’s conversion with some “faint hope” that these newfound Christian beliefs would lead his master to emancipate him and his fellow slaves or at least to treat them more humanely. But Douglass was quickly disappointed, finding that the addition of Christian faith into the household actually made conditions worse; for what Auld found in Christianity was not a prick of conscience leading to moderation or benevolence but rather sturdier support for his cruelty. Douglass saw this perverse dynamic clearly: “Prior to his conversion, he relied upon his own depravity to shield and sustain him in his savage barbarity; but after his conversion, he found religious sanction and support for his slaveholding cruelty.” — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long, 246

Categorization

• ADDENDUM: Directly serves the article ‘On Sacrifice’ and broader work on religion legitimating oppressive structures — religious ideology as stabilizer of stratified cruelty.
• XREF: connects to: A leading theologian declared selling slaves aroused no more guilt than selling a horse — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long: The Legacy of White…, 105; Slaveholders justified slavery through a divinely ordained patriarchal family hierarchy — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long: The Legacy of White…, 236; Pro-slavery theologians invoked insect behavior as divine sanction for human enslavement. — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long: The Legacy of White…, 237 (+11 more)

Broader Connections

• Religious conversion made slaveholders more cruel, not less #corroborates (1.00) — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long, 246
• Religious blessing of slavery severed white Christians’ natural moral restraint #expands (1.00) — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long, 251
• Theological blessing of slavery severed slaveholders’ natural moral impulses #expands (0.95) — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long, 251
• Religious slaveholders were judged the cruelest of all by enslaved people #corroborates (0.85) — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long, 250
• Western religious doctrine gave slavery its highest moral sanction #corroborates (0.85) — Cedric J. Robinson, Black Marxism_ The Making of the Black…, 1709
• Racist theological ideas sanctioned and made American slavery acceptable to Christian churches #corroborates (0.80) — Ibram X. Kendi, Stamped from the Beginning, 20