One of the most important factors that led to the Civil War in 1861, the 150th anniversary of which we are in the midst of remembering, was the role of religious belief. According to historians, many -- if not most -- white Southerners believed slavery was not only a societal good or necessity, but part of God's divine plan. Historian Orville Vernon Burton of the University of South Carolina (briefly of Coastal Carolina University) documented that widespread sentiment in his "The Age of Lincoln."
Here is one of the many quotes he offers up in his book, this from the Rev. Nathaniel Taylor, then principal of the Theological Department at Yale College: "If Jesus Christ were on earth, he would, under certain circumstances, become a slaveholder."
