Incompatibility of Slavery and Christianity in Uncle’s Tom Cabin

In her novel, Uncle’s Tom Cabin, Herriet Beecher Stowe emphasizes the fact that slavery
and Christianity oppose each other because Christianity fights for love, understanding,
equality and acceptance while slavery is against all of them. Stowe goes to great lengths to
demonstrate that slavery is indeed unacceptable to the moral Christian by depicting the
characters who are incredibly religious to be against slavery while those characters that are
pro-slavery are portrayed as being less religious. The only character who fails to see a
difference between blacks and whites is Eva. On the other hand, Legree practices slavery
without remorse

On the one hand, Stowe’s novel rests on a principal of universal love. She believes no
Christian should allow the existence or practice of slavery. She insists on the fact that for a
true believer it would be impossible to oppress and enslave another. Thus, one has to
choose between being a slave owner or a true Christian. A relevant example is George
Shelby who acts on his principles and frees all his slaves.

On the other hand, the author insists on the fact that not only are Christianity and slavery
incompatible, but Christianity can actually be used to fight against slavery. A good example
in this respect is Tom Loker who saved by religious slaves, becomes a Christian himself, and
helps fight slavery. Thus, the author effectively underlines the redemptive power of having
faith in God.

All in all, being a Christian in Stowe’e eyes one must recognize the evil and severity of
slavery and not tolerate it around him or her. For those who practice slavery, she believes
they should not be allowed to claim Christianity because theri actions are immoral and
inhuman.