Religious Instructions

This work is an extended exhortation urging white ministers and slaveowners to attend to the spiritual needs of slaves and free blacks. The book is broken into four parts. The first part is an historical sketch of slavery in the Colonies and the United States, with a focus on missionary and religious efforts directed towards the African slaves. This account goes from 1620 to 1842. Jones closes this first part with a summary of each denomination and each state.

Charles Colcock Jones, Sr. (1804-1863) was a Presbyterian clergyman, educator, missionary, and planter of Liberty County, Georgia. Jones’ book The Religious Instruction of the Negroes in the United States (1842) is an extended plea to White ministers and slave owners to attend to the spiritual needs of slaves and free Blacks. Part one provides a history of slavery and religion in the United States from 1620 to 1842. Part two discusses the moral and religious conditions of slaves and free blacks, while Part three calls on the Christian church to address these conditions.

The first part of this book (1842) by Charles Colcock Jones is an historical sketch of slavery, with an emphasis on missionary and religious efforts directed towards the slaves. Part Two deals with the moral and religious conditions of slaves. The third part describes the obligations of the Christian church to rectify existing problems, while the final part proposes strategies for implementing programs of religious instruction for slaves.