The speech is titled "The Church and Prejudice," so yeah, that's one of the main themes. And in this case, we're talking about racial prejudice. Douglass is saying that racial prejudice has carved itself out a comfy seat, or maybe even a padded pew, in the powerful institution of the Church. And since power plus prejudice equals racism...the church is racist.
The end.
Questions About Racial Prejudice
- It sounds like many of the Northern white church members and ministers weren't being intentionally racist—in fact, they thought they were doing good things by including black people at all. Current anti-racist theory says that impact matters more than intent, though. What's the relationship between impact and intent in the examples of prejudice Douglass provides?
- Douglass says that the ultimate cause of prejudice is slavery. What do you think? What are some causes of prejudice against various groups of people in the 21st century?
- Do some research into other 19th century institutions, including government and higher education. How does prejudice in the Church compare to prejudice in these institutions?
- Does the institution of slavery still impact racial prejudice in America today? How and why?
Chew on This
Check out some potential thesis statements about The Church and Prejudice.
Douglass' examples of prejudice in the church support his argument in other writings that the Christianity of Christ and the Christianity of America need to get to know each other a little better.
Douglass seems to think that the churches of his day got around the issues of real Christian values by claiming that slavery was a Christian value.