Frederick Douglass Interpretation Of Religion

Discrimination has occurred over religious beliefs for hundreds of years due to radicals who abuse their faith’s principles. Faith has become a misconstrued term where members of the same religion can have completely contrast beliefs. General interpretation of a religion’s ideas greatly varies from radical interpretation. Christian slave owners used religion to establish power over their slaves in the 1800s. In the present, the religion of Islam is slandered in the United States for the actions of radicals. The culprits of radicalism certainly can be to blame for fear within religion. People often view their faith as a form of safety, but it can not possibly be safe when it is used as a force of destruction. Religion is not a justification

Even though religion is repeatedly used against Douglass throughout his life before freedom, he is not afraid of it. He too uses religion like the slaveowners, but he uses it to see the light of his situation. At some points in his life he loses faith, such as when he is sent to Covey. Douglass never gives up because he knows that the face of religion is not evil. He understands the fact that some people will hide behind things like religion for their own gain or as an excuse to cause violence. Douglass eventually builds up the courage to take back his spirit and fight Covey. Once he had won against his master, Douglass regained his sense of worth. He uses terms such as resurrection and heaven to describe how it felt to assert power over his owner. (Douglass). Resurrection is directly related to religion because many believe in the idea of being born again once they have died. While with Covey, Douglass feels almost as if he is dead in every was but physically. Then, he is reborn when he wins and feels human again after Covey’s defeat. He uses the word heaven to describe freedom because in religion, heaven is the goal at the end of people’s lives. Heaven is this amazing place that everyone wants to end up in. Douglass wants nothing more than to be free, so he compares it to his heaven. Religion is used by Douglass as a symbol for safety and optimism. His life may not be easy, but he refuses to give

Lay was a Quaker dwarf with powerful ideas that he presented in radical ways. In a meeting that he had with his fellow Quakers, he had made a speech about how it was wrong to own other human beings. He stabbed an animal bladder filled with red juice to symbolize blood to send a message of warning to the Quakers who bought slaves. Although he was kicked out of the meeting, Lay made it clear that “God… respects all people equally, be they rich or poor, man or woman, white or black” (Rediker). Since everyone was created equal, he did not think it was fair for African Americans to become slaves for the white Quakers because that would make them inferior. He wanted to attempt to save them. Benjamin Lay was a peaceful radical who did not wish to hurt anyone, but he did want to get his messages out there. He viewed religion as safety where he could express his views without being hurt even if people did not agree with him. He was also not taken completely seriously because of his size, which was another reason for his desire for a comfort within religion. The absence of violence did not make his stand any more or less effective, but it did deem his protest acceptable in the eyes of