In the Antebellum era, the religious lives of enslaved people were pervasively surveilled and regulated by the state. In this session, learn how “slaveholders' religion” justified chattel slavery, and how both the law and Christian theology changed over time to ensure that, for Black people, “freedom in Christ” did not necessitate freedom from slavery.

Speakers:
Dr. Audra Lyn Savage, Assistant Professor of Law, Wake Forest University School of Law
Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas, Author, Scholar, Canon Theologian, Washington National Cathedral

This is Session 2 of the Black Religious Liberty Curriculum (BRLC), a 12part video series of conversations on the intersection of race, religion, and the law, featuring law professors, historians, theologians, religious studies scholars, activists, and preachers. The curriculum was created by Columbia Law School’s Law, Rights, and Religion Project with support from the Columbia Institute for Religion, Culture, and Public Life and the Proteus Fund’s Rights, Faith, and Democracy Collaborative. Video editing by ANKOSfilms.

Watch the rest of the curriculum series, at LawRightsReligion.org/ourwork/brlc