Conclusion

The transition from slavery to freedom in religious observance can be defined by the context of religious affiliation, first and foremost. Prior to emancipation, slaves were often required by their masters to attend white churches, where they were segregated apart. Despite initial rejections of Christianity due to the source it was presented from, the Old Testament stories of enslaved people being liberated by the will of God from their captors, and lead to Canaan, the Promised Land, resonated deeply with a wide portion of the enslaved population, sparking an interest in a new form of Christian worship. Slaves often gathered together for praise and worship outside of the observance of worship in white spaces, and these meetings lead to the creation of African spirituals, which recounted Biblical stories, along with themes of sorrow, perseverance, and hope, and eventually grew into a means of emancipation in and of themselves through their encoded usage in the Underground Railroad. Once slavery was abolished in the south, this religious observance had the opportunity to grow and flourish in the form of organized religious congregations. Although there was initial clashing between the Northern and Southern modes of thought regarding the proper style of religious observance, unique and regionalized churches sprouted up as a way to forge community ties as hundreds of thousands of freed slaves embarked on personal journeys of self-creation. The power behind these spiritual movements continued, forging invaluable platforms from which African Americans were able to lobby for Civil Rights throughout the 20th century. What began as an enforced religion of white oppressors has truly come full circle, and evolved into a tradition all its own.