Christians and slavery

Christians and Slavery outlines the history of the slave trade and slavery from the 17th Century onwards. It provides the first comprehensive account of evangelical Christians’ engagement with and response to slavery and the slave trade over 250 years. The book includes a special focus on the neglected period following the abolition of the slave trade in Britain in 1807, the importance of narratives from freed slaves in America, and the biblical and theological arguments put forward especially by Particular Baptists in England and Southern theologians in 19th-century America.
In the second part of the book, Ian Shaw explores the main lessons and challenges presented by this history, and how it speaks to Christians in the 21st century in the light of contemporary social, political, and moral concerns, especially in the UK and the USA. Full
annotations provide the groundwork for readers who wish to reflect further on the issues.

In this compelling and courageous work, Ian Shaw sheds light on one of the darkest chapters of Christian history with both honesty and hope.
With scholarly rigour and pastoral sensitivity, he exposes the tragic complicity of the Church in the transatlantic slave trade while also honouring the remarkable witness of Christians who opposed it in the name of the gospel.
This is not just a history book—it is a mirror for the Church today, reminding us that true gospel fidelity demands justice, truth, and compassion.
This is a must-read for anyone serious about Christian ethics, mission history, and the
transformative power of biblical conviction. I believe this is a classic in the making. I cannot
recommend this book enough.

Dr. Newton Chilingulo. Pastor, Reformation Bible Church, Lilongwe, Malawi

Ian Shaw’s accessible book offers an informed Christian perspective on this troubled past and its contemporary legacies. Criss-crossing the Anglo-American world from the Puritans to the US Civil War, it is carefully researched, as well as morally and spiritually serious.

John Coffey. Professor of History, University of Leicester

Ian Shaw has spent much of his life as a social scientist, researching, writing and teaching in universities across the UK, Europe and Asia. Writer and editor of more than thirty books, he is Professor Emeritus at the University of York, England. Drawn by the attractions of gardening, a lifelong compulsion to try to write, and loyalty to Leicester City FC, he also is
the author of Leslie Land: His Life and Ministry (Hesed and Emet, 2023). He is a member of York Evangelical Church.