Bible Team Challenge

Southern culture and slave culture during the Antebellum Period were one and the same. But Southern culture was also deeply religious.

So you might think, How could that be? How could deeply religious people condone the violent enslavement and mistreatment of fellow human beings, fellow children of God?

It's because both sides in the debate over slavery argued from religion. That is to say, they based arguments both for slavery and against slavery on religion, usually on the Bible. Both the Old and New Testaments mention slavery, and neither one condemns it. But the discussion doesn't stop there because it is not clear whether the writers of the Bible would condone slavery as it was practiced in America, as opposed to how it was practiced in Biblical times.

Working with a partner, use research on the Internet to find arguments in favor of slavery and arguments against slavery that have been made based on religion over time. 

For each argument, list the site that you used for source material. The goal is to be critical and discerning about sources used (i.e., not Wikipedia or Ask.com).
 

To Spark Your Thinking

Research Question 1: How have traditional religions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam) viewed slavery?

Research Question 2: Have those views changed over time?

Hypothesis 1: All religions have condoned slavery at one time or another.

 

Hypothesis 2: All religions have condemned slavery at one time or another.

Method: Each person chooses a side to research — religious arguments in favor of slavery and religious arguments against. Each team writes a 400-word blog post, combining what each person found, in favor and against. The team can work together on an intro paragraph and a conclusion paragraph. 

 

Note: The resulting blog post will appear on each person's blog.

Good Luck!