Baptism as Mystical-Political Engagement? Exploring the Images of Baptism in African American Slave Narratives During the Antebellum Period
This paper explores the ritual and spiritual significance of baptism during the Antebellum period. Historical accounts suggest that enslaved Africans possessed a keen interest in the rite despite numerous restrictions placed on it by the Christian Church. While it is possible that enslaved persons f...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2025
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| In: |
Black theology
Year: 2025, Volume: 23, Issue: 1, Pages: 39-59 |
| Further subjects: | B
rites of initiation
B African American religious studies B Theologies of baptism B Antebellum period B Sacramental Theology B slave narratives |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This paper explores the ritual and spiritual significance of baptism during the Antebellum period. Historical accounts suggest that enslaved Africans possessed a keen interest in the rite despite numerous restrictions placed on it by the Christian Church. While it is possible that enslaved persons found the rite and subsequent symbols of the Christian faith to be similar to previously held African beliefs – something that may have contributed to the conditions under which they recognized and eventually protested their bondage – various slave narratives reveal that the rite was often reinterpreted to fit the specific needs and agendas of persons who participated in it. To that end, the paper concludes that for diasporic Africans, baptism ultimately came to be viewed as a form of mystical-political engagement – a ritual whose end was the existential, spiritual, and physical liberation of a people from bondage. |
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| ISSN: | 1743-1670 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Black theology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/14769948.2025.2465227 |
