St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1874-12-04
Christianity and Color.

observation can have failed to notice
that in those sects in which much is
made of religious emotion. and the pol
icy of powerful public appeals to feel
ing is pursued. the moriliticS of life
are ut Il discount. The same fact L.
evident in those communities where
dogma and doctrine form the staple of
religious teaching and religious life. If
any one will take up the early colonial
records of New England, he will he
surprised and shocked ut the amount
of gross immortality which he will find
recorded there. RigiditN of doctrine.
the illumination of the most terrific pun
iShment> in the future life. the passage
and the execution of the most search
ing and detinitivc laws against every
form OF social vice, go hand in hand
with every form of vice. There WAS
adultery in high places and adultery in
low. Slandtr held high carnival. Com
mon ScoldS were almost too common to
Ice noteworthy. In brief. it seems that
Il religion which makes most of its or
thoduNN. or most of its frames and emo
tionS of mind. is Il religion most iii
Vorccd from morality. y man who is
told that the g"muincncS> of his rclig-
ion depends mainly upon the orthodoxy
of his faith. or mainly upon the rapturr>
of his mental experience. l. either part
ly demoralzcd 10y his reception of the
statement. on specially untitled Ia meet
the temptations of his life.
The negro has been surpassed Ia he
particularly susceptible to religious in
tlucnrcs He j. rs fond OF religion ;t>
l. 4 Il. /.
i< fond of il in vrIN much the same
way. 1t is no slandcr t" say that Il
large proportion of the religious lite of
the negro is purely emotional. and that
Il large proportion of the negroes of the
United States have never thoroughly
associated. either III their theories OF
their practical life. religion with mnial-
lily. The typical m"gi" preacher j. a
'tongurN. lnud-mouthcd man. VIII"
appeals III his own fashion /" the crowd
before him and the more he can work
them mp to great excitement. aud Wild
and noisy demonstrations OF feeling.
the better he l. pleased. In portions al
the South there are orgies connected
with the religions meetings of the ne
"ror> which aIc too absurd. too ridicu-
luu>. too hrathrni>h. to hc mentioned
hN one who rcNcrcutlN remembers in
whose sacred name they are performed.
The yelling. dancing. pounding of backs
ana insane pIItoItIOnS at these MOI
..hipcI>. are the same. in every essential
respect. ~ they would Ice in the NoI-
Ship at Il t,tiriI. 1t l. an amusement
Il >upcI>tiIinu> amusement which
leaves no good result whatever. and
4 1
morality than the music of the fiddle
L" which they dance awaN the next
night With equal enthusiasm.
In a recent conversation with an in
tciliGcut clergyman. who has spent
many Years at the South though Il
Northern man We heard him Icclllr.
without reserve. that he did not know
Il negro i'll the " hole Southern country
whom he regarded a. thoroughly trust
worthy III matters at practical morality.
Moreover, lac declared that the worst
men. a. Il class. among them. We're the
preachers themselves. IN these latter
lac Intended To Indicate specially the
>clt-appointcd preachers ignorant. but
bright men who had secured the adj
miIlti"u and support al the masses.
We asked him if hr could not except
from his very SNtcpin" condemnation
such among them a> llI been cduca-
ted Il, the North. He shook his head.
and replied that he knew some among
those. whose superb intellectual culture
would grace the pr"udc>t race i'll the
world. hut never knew one of them
whom he could trust particularly with
his mcighhor'~ wife. Now. this man
had had abundant opportunities of oh
>rr\ation. and spoke with cand"r and
conscience. On one of the bright Sep
tcmhcr sundays of the present year.
the writer listened tn the ont door
preaching. on Boston Common. of ON,
of the finest and most aniablc- looking
specimens of the African race he ever
SIM. and what wa> he preaching about
Not purity of character and life. not
love of God and love of man. not duty
to family and n,'i"hh"r. bat the thco-
logical machinery of salvation. 1t WAS
the natural reaction from the emotional
religion of his race. but it had no NOR,
III II for his race, in lis moIalitirS. than
the fiery uon>rnSr of his less educated
/ brethren
Let lis allow for mistakes in the
judgment and observation of the man
whom We have quoted, and still we
shall have sufficient ground for the
declaration. that the negro in America
us il rule. holds his religion independent
of morality aS something which either
takes the place of ii, or has nothing
whatever t" do with it. III his practical.
every day life. The fact is one full OF
/ grave suggestion. not only aS il regards
4, t,,t,, L Il
regards the country in whose political
/ fortunes he has become 81 important ::
factor. Much as the negro needs in
tellectual education, he needs moral
education more. To learn to read will
do little toI him if. at the same time
his SENSE of right and wrong. his per.
SGnal purity, his regards for the right.
of others, his conscience. are not i'm.
proved. If he canno. more fully per
ceiVe than he does to-day the relations
of Christianity to character and conduct
his Christianity will rather dcba>e than
elevate him. In AN enormous multi
tude of instances, all over the South
his religious rites are IL traVeStV ~
| Christian ohservance>. and IL libel ol
Christianity it>elf-it travrSty and {.
libel that bring religion into contempt
among thousands of observers.
1t will be said that the loose notion.
of marriage that prevailed during tn,
negroes bondage. and the theit> in which
he then justified himself. have il great
deal to 1t" with his plcScnt lack of mon.
al sen>e. 1t is claimed that his "duca.
ton will lift him above his present re-.
ligious teaching. Granted. and still ",
have the emotional nature of the negro
left, and his natural tendency to emo
tional Christianity. 1t is one of the
great problems with winch we have t,
dcal-to educate the conscience of tn,