WILLEMSTAD - Religious leaders, scholars, and social organizations from three continents have gathered in Curaçao this week for the international conference “Christianity and Slavery in Curaçao.” The event, which runs until November 14, explores the complex and often contradictory role of Christianity in the history of slavery.
Organized by Professor Rose Mary Allen, the conference brings together academics, theologians, and community leaders to examine how religion both justified and resisted systems of oppression during the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
In her opening address, Professor Allen emphasized that the conference goes beyond academic reflection.
“This gathering is not only about analysis,” she said. “It is about creating space for stories of resistance, resilience, and hope — about facing a painful history and building new relationships based on recognition and reconciliation.”
Curaçao’s central role in the trans-Atlantic slave trade
Curaçao occupies a central place in this history. The island served as a major hub in the trans-Atlantic slave trade, where thousands of enslaved Africans were held and sold before being deported to the Americas. At the same time, Curaçao became a site of cultural and spiritual transformation, where slavery gave rise to new languages, music, and spiritual traditions forged between oppression and resistance.
Christianity’s dual legacy
Speakers at the conference explored Christianity’s dual role during the colonial period — as both a tool of justification for slavery and a source of compassion and defiance. Enslaved people developed their own religious rituals, musical expressions, and oral traditions, giving spiritual meaning to their suffering and endurance.
The conference also examines how this legacy continues to shape religious practice, cultural heritage, and social relations in the Caribbean and beyond. Participants stressed the need to restore relationships between the church and the wider community, and between academic research and lived experience. Tow
ard recognition and a just future
By reconnecting historical scholarship with community voices, the event seeks to recover suppressed narratives and promote mutual understanding. Participants are also exploring cross-continental collaborations to deepen historical awareness, expand interdisciplinary research, and imagine a more equitable future.
The conference underscores Curaçao’s role not only as a place of historical trauma but also as a beacon for dialogue, healing, and transformation, where the lessons of the past can help inspire justice and reconciliation in the present.
