The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural and intellectual explosion of African American expression during the early 20th century that marked a transformative era in art, literature, and music. Central to this movement was the enduring influence of Christianity, a faith deeply interwoven with the African American experience.
This short piece will explore how Christian religion influenced the creative output of African American artists during the Harlem Renaissance, examining the interplay of heritage, faith, and the quest for freedom.
In fact, it is reasonable to conclude that, during this period, the African American Church served as both a sanctuary of spiritual resilience and a reminder of historical oppression. But as Christianity became a powerful source of inspiration, enabling artists to explore themes of faith, liberation, and identity, this relationship was far from one-dimensional.

While some embraced Christian motifs as symbols of hope and deliverance, others grappled with the contradictions of a religion that was also used to justify slavery and racial subjugation. In this context, Christian imagery and spirituals emerged as artistic tools of resistance, cultural preservation, and storytelling.

MOSES OR THE BIBLICAL SAVIOR FIGURE
Aaron Douglas (1899–1979) was an American painter, illustrator, and visual arts professor. He was a major figure of the Harlem Renaissance cultural movement, often referred to as “the father of African American art.”

Aaron Douglas’ painting titled Let My People Go, created between 1935 and 1939, is part of a series of eight works produced by the artist for James Weldon Johnson’s poetry collection, God’s Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse.
This piece portrays the story of the prophet Moses leading the Hebrew people out of slavery in Egypt: a very powerful scene from the Old Testament. For African American slaves, this story held deep meaning as it echoed their own suffering and the physical, mental, and spiritual oppression they faced under colonizers who imposed Christianity on them. But at the same time, it offered a sense of hope. It became a symbol of unity in their shared labor and a form of covert resistance, with hidden meanings understood only by the slaves.

From the upper left corner of the painting, a golden-yellow beam of light shines down, symbolizing God and surrounding the kneeling figure of Moses. The title Let My People Go is a direct reference to the Negro spiritual Go Down Moses. Later on, during the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, activists adopted the song as a powerful emblem of their enduring struggle for freedom and justice.

But this painting is not the first instance of Moses being linked to liberation; this depiction is in fact very common in African American culture. American abolitionist Harriet Tubman (1820–1913) is often referred to as the “Black Moses”, “Grandmother Moses”, or the “Moses of her people”. Tubman notably earned these titles through her courageous efforts to free African American slaves via the Underground Railroad—a clandestine network of routes, pathways, and safe houses that led countless individuals to freedom in the northern United States.

NEGRO SPIRITUALS: A CODIFIED LIBERTY
Of all the songs that reference Moses, Go Down, Moses is the most well-known. It became a powerful symbol of liberation for enslaved African Americans. For many, Moses represented the leaders of the Underground Railroad. The song’s lyrics, where God tells Moses to demand that Pharaoh let his people go, echoed the hopes of countless enslaved people. Even for those who couldn’t escape, singing it was an act of quiet resistance and a way to keep the dream of freedom alive.

The song’s slow tempo, gradually increasing intensity, and a cappella choir give a solemn and reflective quality to the music. Once the introduction ends, the tempo becomes quicker, with a joyous, rhythmic, and uplifting character. The instrumentation is typical of a jazz ensemble: drums for rhythm, guitar for chords, and double bass for the deepest sounds. The organ reminds us of the music’s religious roots. Like other spirituals, this song contains hidden meanings imperceptible to the masters, allowing slaves to pass messages of hope, freedom, and escape plans. “Egypt land” symbolizes the southern states where slaves lived. “Israel” is the promised land for the Jews held captive in Egypt by Pharaoh, analogous to the African American slaves who, like the Hebrews, were oppressed, working relentlessly until they were physically and mentally broken.

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot is another Negro spiritual, composed before 1862 by Wallace Willis, a freed Native American slave. He was inspired by the Red River in Mississippi, which reminded him of the Jordan River and the story of the prophet Elijah going up to heaven in a chariot. The song uses a call-and-response style, where a leader sings a line and the choir answers with “Coming for to carry me home.” This style comes from African music and is still common in African American churches today.
In terms of lyrics, the song touches on the theme of death, evoking the glory awaiting slaves in paradise, like Elijah taken to heaven in a chariot. The words “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” can symbolize the Jordan River, the first step toward freedom, while “Home” represents Africa, and “Jesus” anyone enabling slaves to achieve freedom.

THE AMBIVALENT PORTRAIT OF CHRISTIANITY
Countee Cullen (1903–1946), a Harlem Renaissance writer, often addressed God in his works. Many of his poems explore his relationship with God and his questioning of divine inaction regarding the condition of African American slaves. He describes his life with his religious adoptive parents and his struggle to reconcile a Christian upbringing with a pagan inclination.
In his first poetry collection, Color, Cullen published Pagan Prayer, where he expresses his desire to see the faith of his people fulfilled:

“Not for myself I make this prayer,
But for this race of mine…“

Cullen portrays himself as a black sheep reluctant to align with the flock following the shepherd. He clearly states that the restoration of his people (“retrieve my race again”) will serve as proof to convince him of God’s existence. In his poem Heritage, Cullen also conveys this duality, describing his challenging conversion to Christianity and longing for a Black God in whom he could believe.

The ambivalence of Christianity among Harlem Renaissance artists arose from a deep dual consciousness tied to their identities as both African American and Christian. W.E.B. Du Bois, in The Souls of Black Folk, articulates this tension, highlighting the struggle of reconciling these intersecting aspects of identity. For many, this duality led to a spectrum of responses, from conflicted acceptance to outright rejection of traditional Christian beliefs. Harlem Renaissance writers grappled with the challenge of aligning their Christian upbringing and education with the harsh realities of racism and the contradictions they observed in American society. This tension is vividly expressed in their works, ranging from Countee Cullen’s reflective ambivalence to Langston Hughes’s more forthright critique and rejection of the Christianity practiced by both Black and white communities.

FURTHER READING

Air, Fresh. « “Color of Christ” : A story of race and religion in America » . NPR, 19 novembre 2012, http://www.npr.org/2012/11/19/165473220/color-of-christ-a-story-of-race-and-religion-in-america.

JONES, David C. Apart and a Part : Dissonance, Double Consciousness, and the Politics of Black Identity in African American Literature, 1946-1964. pure.manchester.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/54572248/FULL_TEXT.PDF.