Imagining God: American Colonialism, Power and Oppression in the African-American Community (2013)

Undergraduate: Marquis Peacock

Faculty Advisor: Laurie Maffly-Kipp
Department: Religious Studies

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My research engages the historical use of Christianity as a tool for expanding colonial power within the African-American community and the simultaneous adaption of Christianity by African-Americans to achieve liberation. Through my exploration of various literary, scholastic, and primary sources I have found that: 1) Slave owners originally used Christianity to control, manipulate and colonize native African slave populations in America; 2) In order to survive, African-Americans reworked history and religion to imagine a better place for themselves and to rationalize their state of enslavement; 3) As the mechanisms and justifications for oppression changed, African-Americans were forced to transform their beliefs and perspectives to counter the claims of their oppressors.