Sacred Ground: Enslaved African Americans and the US Religious Freedom Paradigm

Abstract

The traditional narrative of religious freedom from colonial British North America to the modern United States involves Protestant Pilgrims fleeing persecution and creating an unprecedented haven of religious tolerance in the New World.1 Scholars of African American religion Sabrina Dent and Corey D. B. Walker have characterized this narrative of religious freedom as “one of ascension,” due to its exceptional “development that has consistently expanded across the centuries.”2 This direction of development was guided by the constitutional space provided for religion in the First Amendment as well as the flourishing of new sects during the First and Second Great Awakenings. Dent and Walker are two of many scholars who have argued this assumed linear rise of religious liberty produces a compelling but noncomprehensive account of the religious freedom in the United States.3 Two problems arise from this narrative of linear ascension. The first is a problem of sample and the second is an issue of scope. While the story of early colonial settlers who championed religious tolerance is certainly a piece of the history of religious freedom in the United States, their struggle for religious freedom too often obscures the religious rights of historically underrepresented US populations, including enslaved persons, Native Americans, and immigrants. Because these groups were so often deprived of rights beyond religious freedom, it can be easy to consider their experiences with religious freedom as fringe compared to the “core” of the narrative of religious freedom in the United States.4 Yet, these groups must also be included in the sampling of the nation’s religious experience to craft a representative and richer narrative. Reflecting on the lived realities of those lacking religious freedom can illuminate experiences of other groups denied religious freedom and help modern lawmakers avoid similar mistakes.