Why did African Americans convert to Christianity?

[Proteus_MST]

Just found this link to a master thesis when preparing an answer to Ben in another thread:
http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/et...tor_thesis.pdf

Obviously for catholic slaveholders, the church demanded that they should baptize and catechize their slaves

[Elok]

well, i must confess to being rather ignorant of the finer points of west african theologies, but i do know that peoples who came into contact with christianity often accepted the christian god without accepting christians' claims to his uniqueness. that is a reason why i think that sincere conversion, which, as you say, means rejecting all other gods, thus negating any offence, would make more sense than pretending.

My father-in-law often visits Vietnam, where he says the local Mahayana Buddhists cheerfully integrate Christianity into their personal pantheon. Mary, Jesus, and St. Whoever sit on the personal altar next to a bunch of bodhisattvas and suchlike. If you want something, it really can't hurt to ask them all--you never know who will be feeling generous on any particular day. I have not heard of local Catholics returning the favor, but then I have not asked too many questions. Peasant syncretism is a very real, very common thing in some parts, and I imagine it was still more common back in the day.

[ZEE]

Elok is a nerd.

[Kidlicious]

AAHZ is very consistent.

[Kropotkin]

Ancestor veneration, the workship of pseduo-mythological forefathers and the like, is common in many African cultures. For example amongst Igbo, who made up a significant part of the slaves in the Atlantic slave-trade. I suppose such traditions are hard to keep up when you are no longer living with people with a common ancestry.

[Elok]

Well, when your father's grave is on a faraway plantation you'll never have leave to visit, and his father's "grave" is an unmarked spot in the middle of the Atlantic, and his father died on a whole other continent . . . one does lack for shrines to worship at under such circumstances.