Life Of Frederick Douglass Religion Analysis

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass shares the first hand experiences of a slave during his bondage and immediately after his escape. The first person narrative and the strong themes presented by the author makes this a compelling book to read. The theme of religion is elaborately discussed by the protagonist through various examples in relation to master-slave relations and through differing religious practices in different part of America.
The theme of religion form the backbone of the book as it is discussed in detail both in the preface and in the appendix. In the preface William Lloyd Garrison highlighted the aspect of religion by mentioning that “a slaveholder's practice of Christianity to upheld slavery made him a felon of the

highest grade as he is no more, but a man-stealer.”(Douglass) For some critics the appendix, serves the purpose of mentioning ‘Christianity inclines its followers toward an embrace of slavery’ and these critics argue ‘he could not have spoken openly against Christianity while advancing the cause of abolition’ (Peyser) However, this viewpoint is still highly debatable, but what makes the appendix text to have a strong impact on readers is due to the strong negation statements used by Douglass alongside the acts of goodness which Christianity imposes upon its followers.
Moreover, the theme of religion is discussed with regards of inflicting hardships upon slaves and Douglass provided explicit examples of slave masters who experienced “conversion” after attending religious seminaries and others who were known to be more pious and stricter on their slaves. A more highlighted version of this example was Mr. Covey whom Douglass termed as “a pious soul” and a slave-breaker at the same time.
Later in the book Douglass suggested that ‘greatest calamity that could befall him would to be a slave of a religious master.’(Douglass) This is argued by him by mentioning that religious masters used to be more brutal in their relation with slaves. Along with these claims, the most interesting claim regarding religion in Douglass’s book is regarding opposing distinctions between Christianity practiced in the South and in the North of America. According to him, ‘the religion of the south was to hide the crimes committed against slaves’ (Douglass). These distinctions provided readers with the realization how the same message could be misinterpret to serve different purposes and hence, used differently.
Personally speaking for myself, I found the comparison technique used by Douglass in the appendix to be very effective. By comparing the true teachings of Christianity against the contradictory behavior of its followers, Douglass is able to clarify that his rhetoric was not anti-Christianity. While at the same time, he is able to make the readers abhor slavery with the vices practiced by the slave holders.
Furthermore, the writer emphasized in the appendix of the book on the duties imposed on the followers which in relation were never fulfilled, but to serve the evil purposes or to gain personal advantages. Thus, by clearly elaborating the theme of religion in this book, Douglass was able justify the claims of the abolitionists and to gain sympathies of the readers.