By 1830, southern clergymen

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Southern clergymen in the 1830s preached that all moral truth came from the Bible, which is reflected in their opposition to abolitionism and support for slavery as a biblically-sanctioned social institution. While some individual clergymen may have condemned material improvements or called for universal Christian love, these were not dominant themes in southern religious discourse. Moreover, the idea that southern clergymen could be called adherents of Thomas Jefferson is highly unlikely, given that Jefferson was a notorious skeptic of orthodox Christianity. Finally, while many clergymen likely endorsed traditional gender roles and other forms of social hierarchy, it is less clear that they explicitly condemned relations based on dominance and submission.

By 1830, Southern Clergymen