TY - JOUR PY - 2013/05/24 TI - Co-opting Conversion: Southern Slaves (Un)Acceptance of Christian Conversion in the Antebellum Era JF - Utah Historical Review; Vol 3 (2013) KW - Slavery, Religion, African American, N2 - Traditional scholarship would assert that during the Civil War, African American slaves converted to Christianity in large numbers. Many scholars argue that a large majority of southern slaves committed and converted to the common religious principles to create what they term Afro-Christianity. This perspective is a bit too simplistic however. Using slave narratives, stories, and biographies from the antebellum era, t h is paper suggest s that the conversion of slaves to Christianity might not have happened the way the Afro-Christian scholars suggest and that in fact, many slaves did not convert to Christianity. The argument advanced is that, under the slave system , Christianity did not meet the majority of slaves’ needs and most did not convert because of the content of the gospel being taught to them and the hypocrisy of a nation supporting slavery through Christianity. Additionally, thos e that did accept Christianity did so for reasons other than faith. African American slaves “converted” to Christianity because of societal opportunities, literacy, and because it offered them a tool for resistance and rebellion. It was only the resulting freedom and salvation of the Civil war that caused true conversions of African Americans to the Christian faith.  UR - https://epubs.utah.edu/index.php/historia/article/view/943