Slave Religion By Albert Raboteau Analysis

Slave religion is a book written by an American author Albert Raboteau. It was originally published twenty-five years ago and has been termed as the most informative piece of writing when it comes to telling the African American history and religion. The fact that Albert was an African American, gives the book authenticity and believability. He clearly brought out the sufferings endured by the black slaves from a religious point of view. The employs a unique and very precise tone when it comes to telling his story so that each and every reader may have the intended purpose of his piece.
In this book, the author tries to respond to his past experiences. As a black slave, Albert had the best experience to narrate the ordeals. By writing, Albert
They would hold secret meetings to deliberate on issues affecting them as well as creating unions. The unions gave them a sense of belonging and dignity among their oppressors. The author also boldly depicts to the reader, the customs, and cultures of the African Americans such as the preservation of the belief in African gods that was more predominant in South America when compared to North America which mostly hosted the Protestants.
In this book, the author proves his point of view by presenting the slave's narratives and the missionary reports and journals that depicted the typical day to day life of the religious slaves. Through the use of secondary sources, the author analyzes the transformation of the African traditions into Christianity and the behaviors that resisted change.
Despite the praises that the book have received, critics argue that Raboteau only emphasized on Christianity. He ignored other religions that could also have played a big part in the enslaving of African Americans. Additionally, the author greatly ignored the role of women especially in their role of preserving slave culture. This, however, does not take away the credibility and validity of the arguments conversed in this
He stressed the need to accommodate African Americans in the high ranks in government. He was a famous orator and author. He is termed as the most prominent intellectual of is time. During his life, he offered advice to the president and advocated for human rights not excluding women rights which were by then not recognized by the governments of the day. He was an eloquent charismatic person who wrote many autobiographies stating the ordeals he went through as a slave. The most outstanding piece of work done by Douglas is the narrative of the life of Fredrick Douglass, an American slave. Born a slave, he was in the class of people who were denied access to education but Sophia defied the ban and offered to teach Fredrick alphabets. She was however forbidden to teach him anymore at the age of 12 but the urge of learning could not stop in Fredrick's mind. He continued to learn from the whites children in the neighborhood. In 1838, when he and his wife were free men, he was invited to tell his story at a meeting. This is when he became a regular anti-slavery lecture. After immense contributions in the antislavery and women rights movements, he eventually passed on in 1895