The White Mans Religion: a Savage Hypocrisy

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When people choose to follow a religion they agree to practice the tenets and standards put forth by that religion. If a person is a practicing Christian they would need to follow the teachings of love and kindness that are given forth by Jesus Christ. Frederick Douglass in his work, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself, and William Apess in his work, "An Indian's Looking-Glass for the White Man" both disagree with the form of Christianity practiced and preached by their white oppressors. Although Douglass and Apess are from different cultural backgrounds, both men's works share the theme of the white mans perversion of the Christian religion.

In his work, Frederick Douglass speaks of two kinds of Christianity: the "Christianity of the land" and the "Christianity of Christ" (2093). The `Christianity of the land' is the religion that the southern slave holders practice. They use the peace-teaching Christian religion to justify their right of ownership and their inhumane treatment of slaves. One example of justification can be found early in the Narrative. Douglass states that one way the slave owners justify their actions is with the misconception that the blacks are the descendants of Ham who have been cursed by God. If God has cursed these peoples then he would wholly approve of their being held in bondage by "better" men. This reason will soon be obsolete, states Douglass, because of the number of slave children who "owe their existence to white fathers" (2041). With the mulatto population on the rise, slaveholders are no longer oppressing those cursed by God, but those of their own kind who, by the white man's standards, are the chosen peoples of God.

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...oth Frederick Douglass and William Apess share many of the same qualms with the form of Christianity that is being practiced by those "above" them. This can truly be understood if one knows anything about the teachings of the Christian religion. It preaches love, forgiveness, and kindness to your fellow man. The actions of the slave holders in the South and the Indian oppressors in the North are a direct contradiction to the teachings of the religion they "piously" follow. Both authors show that the whites' actions and deeds are mere "face" paying to a God it seems they don't even respect. Douglass and Apess have seen the hypocrisy in the practiced religion and brought it to the attention of thousands. Both men have decided to practice what it written in the Bible as opposed to what is being preached in the pulpit and encourage all to follow their actions.

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