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Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.comCould enslaved Africans become Christians, and if they did, should baptism lead to freedom? Katharine Gerbner, Associate Professor of History and Director of Religious Studies at the University of Minnesota, joins Will Wright and Pastor Josh Burtram to explain how religion shaped slavery and race in the Protestant Atlantic world. Gerbner's book, Christian Slavery, examines a tension many Americans rarely consider: early Protestant slaveholders often treated Christianity as a marker of freedom, while missionaries wanted to convert enslaved people without disrupting slavery. That conflict helped produce what Gerbner calls “Protestant supremacy,” a religious framework that came before the legal solidification of whiteness and helped justify slavery through religious difference. The conversation moves through Quakers in Barbados, baptism, Catholic and Protestant slave systems, enslaved Christians, and theologies used to defend bondage. It is a hard but necessary look at how Christian language could be used both to seek freedom and to preserve power.Guest BioKatharine Gerbner is Associate Professor of History and Director of the Religious Studies Program at the University of Minnesota. Her work examines how religion shapes, and is shaped by, race, freedom, politics, and technology. She is the author of Christian Slavery: Conversion and Race in the Protestant Atlantic World, which argues that religion was central to the development of both slavery and race in the Protestant Atlantic world, and Archival Irruptions: Constructing Religion and Criminalizing Obeah in Eighteenth-Century Jamaica. Her scholarship connects directly to this episode's focus on Christian slavery, Protestant supremacy, baptism, enslaved Christians, and the religious arguments used to justify or challenge slavery.Book MentionedChristian Slavery: Conversion and Race in the Protestant Atlantic World by Katharine GerbnerBookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9780812224368Relevant Links & ResourcesKatharine Gerbner Faculty ProfileURL: https://cla.umn.edu/about/directory/profile/kgerbner Support Sarah Stankorb's work and preorder Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion, Releases September 15, 2026. Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9798889837091Website: https://www.sarahstankorb.com/Support the showKeep the conversation going.Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, suggest a future guest, or connect with us directly?Visit our website:faithfulpoliticspodcast.comBrowse our bookstore, featuring books from many of our guests:faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstoreSupport the show and help us keep these conversations going:patreon.com/cw/FaithfulPoliticsSubscribe for behind-the-scenes content, reflections, and updates:faithfulpolitics.substack.comContact the hosts:Josh Burtram, Faithful Host: Josh@faithfulpolitics.comWill Wright, Political Host: Will@faithfulpolitics.comFollow Faithful Politics:Instagram: faithful_politicsFacebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcast
In this episode, we interview Dr. Katharine Gerbner, Professor of History at the University of Minnesota, about her research on the religious dimensions of the Atlantic slave trade. Dr. Gerbner studied three groups: Anglicans, Quakers, and Moravians analyzing how they engaged with, defended, and benefited from the slave trade in Barbados and other English Colonies. How did groups that we associate with pacifism and abolitionism justify owning other human beings? What was the focus of the Established Church of England in relation to the expansion of the British Empire? Our latest episode explores these and other related topics that help us understand our early American religious experience. Dr. Katharine Gerbner holds degrees from Columbia and Harvard Universities. She is a native of Germantown PA and is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Minnesota. She writes; “My first book, Christian Slavery: Conversion and Race in the Protestant Atlantic World, shows how debates between slave-owners, black Christians, and missionaries transformed the practice of Protestantism and the language of race.”
On this episode Adrian and Trevor are humbled and honored to have author, professor, historian, mom, and all around amazing woman, Katharine Gerbner join us to discuss her book Christian Slavery: Conversion And Race in the Protestant Atlantic World. Recently she was a part of the two part documentary on PBS called "The Black Church." We dive into the origins of slavery, the church, and what the term protestant supremacy means. This is an episode that you don't want to miss, as she takes us to school in the best of ways on topics that are tough, but worthy of wrestling through. Katharine Gerbner LINKS: katharinegerbner.com Facebook Twitter BUY HER BOOK Christian Slavery HERE!!! FOLLOW TREVOR AND ADRIAN: Adrian Williams: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram Trevor DeVage: @trevordevage (Everywhere) website: trevordevage.com Music In This Episode: Precious Puritans- by Propaganda --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/theculturalredemptive/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/theculturalredemptive/support
Rev. Dr. Sègbégnon Mathieu Gnonhossou is Assistant Professor of Theological Studies at Seattle Pacific University. Christian Slavery: Conversion and Race in the Protestant Atlantic World by Katharine Gerbner Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi Let us hear from you: podcast@worldmethodist.org Connect with Rob on Social Media: @DrRobHaynes Find us on Social Media: Facebook Twitter Instagram
1st Hour: Katharine Gerbner - Author of Christian Slavery; Conversion and Race in the Protestant Atlantic World. Max Klaus - Author of Race and Social Change: A Quest, A Study, A Call to Action. 2nd Hour: Michael Baran - Co-author of Subtle Acts of Exclusion Majorie Kelly - Co-author of The Making of a Democratic Economy: Building Prosperity For the Many, Not Just the Few See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.
Racism is deeply rooted in the USA, and entwined with religion. Katharine Gerbner, author of Christian Slavery: Conversion and Race in the Protestant Atlantic World, helps uproot the attitudes and untwine the prejudices in the hope of finding a clear way forward. Katharine is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Minnesota.
Follow the show on Instagram @savedandwoke Follow Juan on Instagram @mr_savedandwoke Follow Miles across all platforms @mr.magnificent.miles Books discussed in this episode: How to Not Get Shot and Other Advice From White People by D.L. Hughely Woke Church by Eric Mason Christian Slavery: Conversion and Race in the Protestant Atlantic World by Katharine Gerbner
A conversation with historian Katharine Gerbner about how religion has influenced our ideas about race, authority and freedom. Guest: Katharine Gerbner is a professor of history at the University of Minnesota. She is the author of Christian Slavery: Conversion and Race in the Protestant Atlantic World. The post History of Slavery and the Invention of Whiteness appeared first on KPFA.
Religion was fundamental to the development of both slavery and race in the Protestant Atlantic world. For slaveholders, Christianity was a sign of freedom, and most believed that slaves should not be eligible for conversion. Meanwhile, Protestant missionaries arrived in the plantation colonies in the 1670s and were appalled that most slave owners rejected the prospect of slave conversion. Over time, missionaries increasingly used the language of race to support their arguments for slave conversion. Enslaved Christians, meanwhile, developed an alternate vision of Protestantism that linked religious conversion to literacy and freedom. This lecture discusses the differing motivations of slave owners, missionaries, and enslaved populations since the 17th century in the Protestant Atlantic. Speaker: Katharine Gerbner is a McKnight Land-Grant Professor and Assistant Professor of History at the University of Minnesota. Her research explores the religious dimensions of race, authority, and freedom in early America and the Atlantic world. Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.
Between 1500 and the 1860s, Europeans and Americans forcibly removed approximately 12 million African people from the African continent, transported them to the Americas, and enslaved them. Why did Europeans and Americans enslave Africans? How did they justify their actions? Katherine Gerbner, an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Minnesota and author of Christian Slavery: Conversion and Race in the Protestant Atlantic World, leads us on an exploration of ways Christianity influenced early ideas about slavery and its practice. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/206 Sponsor Links Omohundro Institute The OI Reader App (Android | iOS) Babble (Free Trial) Complementary Episodes Episode 047: Emily Conroy-Krutz, Christian Imperialism Episode 064: Brett Rusthforth, Native American slavery in New France Episode 135: Julie Holcomb, Moral Commerce Episode 139: Andrés Reséndez, Indian Enslavement in the Americas Episode 170: Wendy Warren, Slavery in Early New England Episode 173: Marisa Fuentes, Colonial Port Cities and Slavery Episode 178: Karoline Cook, Muslims & Moriscos in Colonial Spanish America Helpful Show Links Ben Franklin's World Facebook Page Join the Ben Franklin's World Community Sign-up for the Franklin Gazette Newsletter Ben Franklin's World iOS App Ben Franklin's World Android App *Books purchased through this link will help support the production of Ben Franklin's World.
Bob speaks with Katharine Gerbner, author of Christian Slavery; Conversion and Race in the Protestant Atlantic World, and Jules Morse, Co-Author of Disco Fried.
Could slaves become Christian? If so, did their conversion lead to freedom? If not, how could perpetual enslavement be justified? In her recent book, Christian Slavery: Conversion and Race in the Protestant Atlantic World (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018), Katharine Gerbner asks these questions as she traces how religion was fundamental to the development of both slavery and race in the early modern period, as Anglicans, Quakers, and Moravians settled and missionized the Protestant Atlantic world. Katharine Gerbner is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Minnesota. Hillary Kaell co-hosts NBIR and is Associate Professor of Religion at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Could slaves become Christian? If so, did their conversion lead to freedom? If not, how could perpetual enslavement be justified? In her recent book, Christian Slavery: Conversion and Race in the Protestant Atlantic World (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018), Katharine Gerbner asks these questions as she traces how religion was fundamental to the development of both slavery and race in the early modern period, as Anglicans, Quakers, and Moravians settled and missionized the Protestant Atlantic world. Katharine Gerbner is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Minnesota. Hillary Kaell co-hosts NBIR and is Associate Professor of Religion at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Could slaves become Christian? If so, did their conversion lead to freedom? If not, how could perpetual enslavement be justified? In her recent book, Christian Slavery: Conversion and Race in the Protestant Atlantic World (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018), Katharine Gerbner asks these questions as she traces how religion was fundamental to the development of both slavery and race in the early modern period, as Anglicans, Quakers, and Moravians settled and missionized the Protestant Atlantic world. Katharine Gerbner is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Minnesota. Hillary Kaell co-hosts NBIR and is Associate Professor of Religion at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-american-studies
Could slaves become Christian? If so, did their conversion lead to freedom? If not, how could perpetual enslavement be justified? In her recent book, Christian Slavery: Conversion and Race in the Protestant Atlantic World (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018), Katharine Gerbner asks these questions as she traces how religion was fundamental to the development of both slavery and race in the early modern period, as Anglicans, Quakers, and Moravians settled and missionized the Protestant Atlantic world. Katharine Gerbner is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Minnesota. Hillary Kaell co-hosts NBIR and is Associate Professor of Religion at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Could slaves become Christian? If so, did their conversion lead to freedom? If not, how could perpetual enslavement be justified? In her recent book, Christian Slavery: Conversion and Race in the Protestant Atlantic World (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018), Katharine Gerbner asks these questions as she traces how religion was fundamental to the development of both slavery and race in the early modern period, as Anglicans, Quakers, and Moravians settled and missionized the Protestant Atlantic world. Katharine Gerbner is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Minnesota. Hillary Kaell co-hosts NBIR and is Associate Professor of Religion at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Could slaves become Christian? If so, did their conversion lead to freedom? If not, how could perpetual enslavement be justified? In her recent book, Christian Slavery: Conversion and Race in the Protestant Atlantic World (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018), Katharine Gerbner asks these questions as she traces how religion was fundamental to the development of both slavery and race in the early modern period, as Anglicans, Quakers, and Moravians settled and missionized the Protestant Atlantic world. Katharine Gerbner is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Minnesota. Hillary Kaell co-hosts NBIR and is Associate Professor of Religion at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Could slaves become Christian? If so, did their conversion lead to freedom? If not, how could perpetual enslavement be justified? In her recent book, Christian Slavery: Conversion and Race in the Protestant Atlantic World (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018), Katharine Gerbner asks these questions as she traces how religion was fundamental to the development of both slavery and race in the early modern period, as Anglicans, Quakers, and Moravians settled and missionized the Protestant Atlantic world. Katharine Gerbner is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Minnesota. Hillary Kaell co-hosts NBIR and is Associate Professor of Religion at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
On this episode, Dr. Katharine Gerbner discussed her new book "Christian Slavery: Conversion and Race in the Protestant Atlantic World".