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• The discussion focuses on the vast topics of religion and slavery throughout history and globally.
• Religion:
  • Distinguishes between formal, organized religion (churches, mosques, temples) and informal spiritual practices (crossing fingers, knocking on wood, yoga).
• Slavery:
  • Differentiates between legal chattel slavery (people as property) and "neo-slavery" or "modern slavery" (human trafficking, debt bondage, forced labor, child labor).
  • The Global Slavery Index estimates 40 million individuals are currently in modern slavery, with 71% being female.
  • The presentation will narrow its focus to organized religions (Paganism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam) and historical forms of slavery (ancient, medieval serfdom, medieval, modern post-1492).
  • Chattel slavery, where people are legal property, was legal in most societies until the 19th century and is now illegal in all recognized countries. Mauritania was the last recognized country to criminalize it in 2007, and Western Sahara in 2010.
  • Abolition of slavery spread slowly, starting in some northern European countries and East Asia.
  • Early Abolition in France: Louis X (early 14th century) abolished slavery, decreeing any slave setting foot in France would be freed, linking "France" to "freedom."
  • Economic Factors in Abolition:
    • In medieval Christian West, large populations of "serfs" (tied to land, not personal property) evolved from "slaves."
    • After the Black Death dramatically reduced Europe's population, land became more valuable than labor. Landowners found it more profitable to rent land than to maintain serfs/slaves.
  • Colonial Empires and Slavery:
    • European colonial empires, like France, built their wealth on slave labor in overseas territories.
    • Vast stolen land in the Americas required labor, leading to imported slave labor due to difficulty in attracting European settlers.
    • Regions with early large populations (e.g., China, early Europe) saw earlier abolition compared to economically less developed or poorer regions.
  • Origins of Slavery: Slavery is a prehistoric, inherited institution, well-established in all ancient civilizations as soon as written records appear.
    • Code of Hammurabi (1754 BCE) casually mentions slavery as an existing practice.
    • Economically viable slavery requires economic surplus and concentrated populations (e.g., agriculture).
  • Sources of Slaves: War (victors taking spoils, including people), piracy, and banditry were common sources.
    • Homer's Iliad depicts captured Trojan women as sexual slaves.
    • Greek city-states could enslave entire populations of conquered cities (e.g., Thebes).
    • Athenian military failures (e.g., Sicily expedition) led to troops being sold into slavery.
    • Heraclitus: "War is the father of all the king of all; he turns some people into slaves and he sets others free."
  • Conditions of Slavery in Antiquity:
    • Most slaves worked in agriculture.
    • Particularly horrific professions included mine work and brothels.
    • Skilled slaves (craftsmen, bankers, domestic servants) might have better conditions due to their value to owners.
    • Example: A king's chief eunuch, though unfree, could wield significant power.
  • Classical Athens as a Slave Society:
    • A democracy, yet had more slaves (c. 80,000, 30% of population) than any other Greek city-state.
    • Most free Athenians owned at least one slave; not owning one was a sign of poverty.
  • Philosophical Justification: Aristotle's theory of "natural slavery" argued thinkers were natural masters and physical laborers were natural slaves, who could comprehend reason but lacked deliberative ability.
  • Slavery and Women: The status of women, even non-slaves, was often intimately connected with hierarchical power structures; women constituted a large percentage of enslaved people in antiquity and modern times (70% of modern slaves).
• Slavery and Religion (Specific Religions):
  • Hebrew Bible/Torah:
    • Narrative of emancipation from slavery in Egypt (Exodus).
    • Does not condemn or forbid slavery in general terms.
    • Prohibitions against enslaving fellow Israelites, with rules for freeing Israelite men (after 6 years service, but children born in slavery could remain slaves).
    • Condoned slave trade from "nations around you" and "aliens residing with you," allowing them to be property and inheritable.
    • Permitted selling daughters into slavery, often for concubinage.
    • Similar to other ancient law codes of the time (e.g., Code of Hammurabi).
  • Jesus/New Testament:
    • Lived in a slave-owning Roman society.
    • Announced a heavenly kingdom where "the last would be first" and called followers to "serve" like slaves.
    • Used master-slave relationships as an analogy for God-human relationships.
    • Promoted debt forgiveness (alleviating debt slavery), but did not call for an ending of slavery in general.
    • Healed slaves but did not physically free them.
  • Paul:
    • Christianity's earliest surviving author; promoted a community where there was "neither slave nor a free person" in Christ.
    • Accepted that many Christians owned other Christians as slaves.
    • In the letter to Philemon, he subtly urged freeing a fugitive slave, Onesimus.
    • Repeatedly instructed slaves to "obey your earthly masters with respect and fear... as you would obey Christ," used by slave owners to justify slavery.
  • Muhammad/Quran:
    • Lived in a slave-owning society.
    • Interacted with slaves, including freeing Zaid and adopting him.
    • Regulates rather than abolishes slavery.
    • Urges masters to be kind to slaves and recommends their liberation (by purchase or manumission) as a good deed and expiation for sins.
    • Quranic verses (e.g., Surah Al-Balad) list "setting free of a slave" as part of the "uphill road" of righteousness.
    • Accepted that slaves are still people with beliefs and should be treated with kindness; prohibited compelling slave girls into prostitution if they wished to remain chaste.
• Prohibition on Enslaving Co-Religionists:
  • Historically, many religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) discouraged or forbade owning slaves of their own faith, creating an economy for enslaving "the others" (gentiles, pagans, heathens).
  • This dynamic fueled raiding and slave trade between different religious groups (e.g., Vikings raiding Christians, Muslims raiding Western Europe).
• Mamluks and Janissaries:
  • In the Islamic world, the practice of importing non-Muslim slaves (from Caucasus, Central Asia, Slavic Europe) led to elite slave soldiers called Mamluks. These military casts, though slaves, gained high status and sometimes power (Mamluks ruled Egypt for centuries).
  • The Ottomans later had a similar Janissary system with Christian Slavic slave boys.
• Modern Era Slave Trade:
  • Continued raiding of less developed places (e.g., African slave trade).
  • Vast numbers of African slaves imported to the Americas, especially Brazil and the West Indies (more valuable than North America for European empires due to sugar plantations).
  • High mortality rates in these areas led to continuous slave imports; in North America, slaves eventually reproduced, reducing the need for imports.
• Abolitionism:
  • Many Christians and Muslims opposed the slave trade and slavery, leading to abolitionist movements.
  • Quakers were early and prominent abolitionists, eventually disallowing slave ownership among their members.
• Conclusion:
  • Religions emerged in times when chattel slavery was inherited and often justified by contemporary philosophy (e.g., Aristotle's natural order).
  • While some groups maintained and expanded slavery, others within these groups worked to abolish it.
• Ongoing Issues:
  • The problem of modern slavery (human trafficking, debt bondage, forced labor, child labor) is not solved.
  • Discussions about reparations and compensation for past atrocities (African slaves, First Nations) are complex, with no easy answers.
  • The concept of inherited privilege and disadvantage necessitates "affirmative actions" and "truth and reconciliation" efforts.
  • Historical examples of de facto slavery beyond chattel slavery: Eastern European serfdom (legally deteriorated to slavery), Chinese corvée labor (Great Wall), early industrial revolution "wage slavery," contemporary sex trafficking, sweatshop labor, and migrant worker exploitation.
  • Science also benefited from and contributed to the modern slave trade (naturalists on slave ships).