The Origins of Proslavery Christianity: White and Black Evangelicals in Colonial and Antebellum Virginia

by Charles F. Irons

Ultimately, African American Virginians indicated to whites that they were most likely to join quasi-independent churches composed entirely of black evangelicals. Whites accordingly allocated money and personnel to build separate houses of worship or to facilitate separate worship services in the same buildings. This physical separation, especially evident in urban congregations, symbolized the growing emotional separation between white and black evangelicals. Whites were more responsive to black evangelicals than ever, but their motivation was conditioned less by interpersonal relationships and more by a desire to bring blacks into the safety of the visible church. Northern