Virginia’s “Christian vs. Infidel” Slave Statute (1670)

In colonial Virginia, lawmakers in the House of Burgesses at Jamestown passed an act drawing a sharp line: Africans who arrived already Christians were not to be held as lifelong “slaves,” while those brought in as “infidels” could be purchased and kept in perpetual bondage. The statute exposed a moral tension at the colony’s center—professing allegiance to Christ while building an economy that increasingly depended on human captivity.

This law was limited from the start. It did not dismantle slavery; it narrowed who could be reduced to permanent bondage. Yet even in its narrowness, it acknowledged that baptism and Christian identity carried weight that could not be casually dismissed in a society that still spoke in the language of church, covenant, and conscience.

People, Places, and the Struggle for Christian Integrity

Virginia’s leaders, including figures in Governor William Berkeley’s era, faced growing labor demands on tobacco plantations along the James River. Some colonists were willing to exploit any ambiguity to increase control. Others, including clergy and later advocates, pressed the claims of Christian discipleship against cruelty and spiritual neglect.

The debate was not merely legal; it was spiritual. If Christ makes a person His own, can that person be treated as mere property? Scripture’s witness kept resurfacing: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free… for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28). Whatever distinctions remained in civil society, the church was confronted with the unsettling truth that fellow image-bearers could be brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Repeal in 1682 and a Call to Righteous Reform

The later repeal in 1682 hardened racial slavery and widened perpetual bondage. That reversal is a sober warning: faith can be invoked while justice is denied, and laws can be reshaped to protect sin rather than restrain it.

Yet the Christian response is not despair but steadfast repentance and courage. God’s Word speaks plainly to power: “Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, since you know that you also have a Master in heaven.” (Colossians 4:1). The lesson endures: guard the meaning of Christian identity, refuse to bend Scripture to excuse oppression, and pursue reform with truth, humility, and sacrificial love.