Slavery.

During the early national period, most African Americans were slaves. Of more than 750,000 black Americans in 1790, all but 60,000 were enslaved. Their enslavement was the single most important feature of African American religious life in this period. Black Americans used religion to find some relief from slavery even as the forms of religion they practiced were shaped by this "peculiar institution." Because they were in bondage, the religious history of African Americans is a telling example of the limitations of religious freedom in early America, as well as of its growth. For despite the limitations and deprivations slavery and racism imposed on many African Americans, a richly varied religious culture evolved that was a powerful force in black life and was just as complex as the religions of white Americans.

African Religions.

Africans brought their own religions with them from Africa, although we cannot...