Salvation black or white: Presbyterian rationale and Protestant support for the religious instruction of slaves in South Carolina
This work examines the rationale used by South Carolina Presbyterians for the religious instruction of slaves and the connection between such education and the salvation of masters as well as slaves. Previous scholarship has largely ignored the issue of salvation in the ante-bellum South for Christians black or white; To adequately explain the complex issue of salvation in a slave society, this research highlights Presbyterians in South Carolina, from the late Eighteenth Century to Reconstruction. To fully appreciate the depth of Southern commitment to slavery, religious education and salvation, general Southern Protestant support for this spiritual endeavor is presented first. To further aid in understanding its importance to Presbyterians as a denomination, an account of their institutional struggle is also provided. Ultimately, South Carolina Presbyterians fostered black religious education with a deeply held biblical rationale expressing equal concern for the souls of both slaves and masters.
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