Throughout Harriet Jacobs' powerful and informative autobiography, Christianity is repeatedly mentioned as a direct influence and indirectly on the episodes of his life as a slave. women. Jacobs depicts religion among slaves as a soothing escape from their suffering and exposes the Christianity of white slaveholders as a hypocritical contrast to their lack of morality. In her autobiography, she devotes a chapter entitled “The Church and Slavery” to the place of Christianity in Southern society. His stories in this chapter show Northern Christian readers how their religion was corrupted by the institution of slavery. Jacobs' intended effect on the anti-slavery movement was influenced by the effects of the Second Great Awakening and the cohesion between abolition and religious revival. Although many Northern Christians favored immediate emancipation, they focused their religious energy on the conversion of natives abroad rather than on the moral education of white slave owners at home. However, Jacobs recognizes that there were too many obstacles to overcome to inspire a moral revolution among Southern slave owners. In this section of Harriet Jacobs's narrative, the author attempts to connect with Northern Christians in order to expand the abolitionist movement; Since his call to action ultimately proves unrealistic, we understand how difficult it was for abolitionists to achieve widespread change. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Christianity in the community of Harriet Jacobs was used as a means to further control the slaves. As slave owners feared their slaves were planning an uprising against them, religious instruction was used to encourage slaves to submit to their master and thus to God. Reverend Pike taught the slaves in his community his interpretation of Christian morality. This was ironic because, according to Jacobs, "many of them [were] sincere and closer to heaven's gate than the sanctimonious Mr. Pike" (Jacobs 78). Although Southern whites sought to prevent uprising through moral education, African Americans had a purer connection to God and better moral understanding than any slave owner or hypocritical Southern preacher. The most haunting aspect of any abusive slave owner she described was that "he...boasted the name and position of a Christian, although Satan never had a more faithful disciple" (Jacobs 55). A slave owner's Christianity was used as a way to justify to himself and others that he had a moral conscience and that God would save him for it. Jacobs talks about this religious corruption to attract the attention of Northern Christians. The Second Great Awakening inspired a religion focused on morality, philanthropy, and reform. Therefore, any Protestant devoted to the values ​​of religious revival would be offended by the events in Jacobs's account. Religion should not be used as a means to control slaves, but rather as a means to free them. Many Northern Christians were oblivious to the true suffering of slaves. This is partly because slave owners were manipulative and made it appear as if their slaves were happy with their position. All religious leaders who traveled to the South were deceived into believing that slaves were allowed to worship freely andthat they did not want to be emancipated. Therefore, Jacobs took it upon herself to expose the condition of the slave to those who were deceived. She used the theme of religion in conjunction with the suffering of slaves to connect with religious readers. The pressure to motivate readers to sympathize with the anti-slavery movement impacted the topics covered. Jacobs focused on the themes she incorporated into her narrative. Jacobs saw the importance of religion in her story in part because religious Northerners could very likely be moved to join the abolitionist movement if she connected with them. Since Jacobs was influenced by the anti-slavery movement and wrote her story for the cause. , she was pressured to call on others to do their part in the movement. She criticized the religious revival and asked them to concentrate on domestic rather than international missionary work. She wrote, “They send the Bible to the pagans abroad and neglect the pagans at home…I ask them not to neglect the dark corners at home” (Jacobs 82). Here she characterizes Southern Christians as pagans because they did not have a proper understanding of Christianity and its core values. They treated men as property, took children from their mothers, and physically attacked slaves, all while considering themselves ethical and in touch with God. If religious revivalists worked with Southern slave owners, in theory, they would leave their position as slave owners to live more Christian lives. Having personally witnessed the healing power of religion within her own community, she hoped that those of wealth and higher status could use it as a weapon against the institution of slavery. His ties to Northern Christians, coupled with a call for their aid in the South, should have benefited the anti-slavery movement. However, Jacobs acknowledged that change was not so simple. Because of the conflict between North and South and Southerners' dislike of abolitionists, it would have been almost impossible for missionaries to effectively inspire change among slave owners. Even if some missionaries were willing to teach in the South, they would have been driven out of the region or punished for their work. For slave owners to be aware of their own sins, they would have had to accept the Reformed religion and the teachings of the missionaries. Therefore, it was unrealistic to assume that missionaries would have the same influence on Southern whites as they did on other peoples. Jacobs tried to achieve what the anti-slavery movement asked of him by urging Northerners to help the slaves. The withdrawal of his call for action represents the difficulty faced by many anti-slavery activists. There were too many obstacles to overcome due to the immense power of slave owners and the legal system that supported them. The social influence and dehumanization of slaves allowed people to become blind to the wickedness of the institution of slavery every day. Even the most powerful anti-slavery arguments, including Jacobs' moving account, struggled to incorporate realistic plans to abolish the institution. Harriet Jacobs' only weapon was her story. Although he was powerful, he was not enough to convince all slave owners in the South to emancipate their slaves. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Jacobs' incorporation of religious themes is representative of.