Religion, Culture, and the Question of Equality in Equiano Brittany Page College

As a civilization grows and develops its own distinct culture, a religion is often formed to best understand how the world around the tribe works. While some cultures have a very distinct set of beliefs, customs, and practices, most can be linked under broad umbrellas. In the abolitionist piece “The Interesting Narrative,” Equiano uses his native country’s religion and compares it to Judaism to form a bridge between the the two cultures and establish a set of matches, in order to best link European and African roots together under the collection of humanity.

During the time of slavery, white Europeans insisted on distancing themselves and dehumanizing the ‘others,’ in an attempt to justify their actions. Othering is “an ideological and discursive mechanism built on conceptions of darkness, difference, dehumanization, and absence” (Culea). As Europeans were seen as emissaries of the light, the notion that Africans of all tribes were dark, not only in complexion, but intellectually, spiritually, and culturally, prevailed. The concept of slavery was warped until it fit under Christian guidelines, and was seen as beneficial to the recipients. Many white Europeans thought that taking black Africans from their homeland, insisting on...