Slavery From a Religious Perspective

Religion has always been a point of contention and struggle since the beginning of time. Religious beliefs have always caused issues among people with differing views. One such view is slavery. In most modern societies, slavery is gone, thankfully. However, it has not always been this way. American society used slaves until the end of the Civil War. Slavery and religion were very closely tied, as slavery was typically justified and condemned by various religious texts and beliefs. This article will explore the various reasons and nuances for the continuous practice of slavery.

Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all condone slavery. The prophet Abraham owned slaves and was never struck down by God for it or told to free his slaves. Noah’s grandson, Ham, was cursed to be a slave for his brothers. The Bible says:

“And the sons of Noah that went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan. These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole world overspread. And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: and he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness. And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years." (Genesis IX, 18-27).

Another story tells of a runaway slave, Philemon, being returned to his master after running away. Slavery is not condemned by the Bible. If anything, slavery is tolerated. Slaves can be viewed in the same frame as women are viewed in the Bible. Women are meant to play a subordinate role to a man. This is the same as slaves; slaves are meant to be subordinates to the common man. In the Qur’an, slavery is not condemned. Slavery in the Qur’an is more lenient in terms of laws for slaves to be married, prostituted, and to be more accepted if they convert to Islam. POW’s are very much encouraged in Islam, however, and slaves can be viewed as POW’s. Allowing slaves to be free would upset the natural state of mankind. Slaves have always existed, so why veer from the groundwork our ancestors have provided? If God intended to not have slavery, then why has He not struck down all masters?

Despite all of this,traditional religions and their relationships with slavery have been inconsistent over the last centuries. Religions that have somewhat condemned slavery include Judaism, Christian, and Islam. Other religions not mentioned were either Pro-slavery or had no viewpoint or history with slaves. It seems that whether a religion was Anti-Slavery or not, slaves were still treated as property. For example, in Judaism slaves had a range of benefits, treatments, and protections. With certain protections, they were treated as extended family and could be freed. However, they were still considered property and were traded due to the Talmud. The Talmud is a religious text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law and Jewish theology. A text in the Talmud states that killing a slave is the equivalent of killing a freed person, and there will be equal consequence to that punishment. Even though they were considered property, they could still own material goods. In Judaism slaves were treated as best as they could be, knowing that they were slaves. In the Christian religion, they were different types and forms of slavery. Slaves were looked at equally to others however slavery was also accepted as an institution. For the most part, Christians were Pro-slavery however the slaves ended up using the bible in ways to free themselves. In the Islamic religion, slaves were to be treated with kindness, while slavery was also recognized as an institution. In all of these traditional religions, slavery was not completely condemned or condoned, but was viewed from both perspectives. They were treated better more often than not however were still considered slaves and property. The views of slavery have clearly changed over time, in a positive way. Now, all religions condemn slavery. 

Map of current concentration of slavery worldwide

Overtime, slavery worldwide has diminished, however slavery still does exist in certain areas where there is either war, poverty, or both. Most slaves today are slaves due to being captured as a prisoner of war (POW). Unlike during colonial times, where there were abolitionists willing to speak up to stop slavery, no one can speak up for current POW’s without persecution. A significant area where a lot of slavery occurs is in the Middle East due to the war stricken conditions and areas. As a whole, the minute slavery that occurs today has nothing to do with race, and everything to do with punishment for actions.