In the autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass captures of religious hypocrisy through the cruel and inhumane master, Captain Auld.  Douglass is born into the life of slavery. He faces many hardships that scars him for the rest of his life, such as: witnessing Captain Auld crying out a verse while whipping a young slave women and not being able to pray without permission.. Through going to church meetings, prayer, and the Sabbath School, Douglass presents us with a precise image of the cruel and unusual ways that Captain Auld uses religious hypocrisy with his slaves.

Douglass uses the description of the Methodist camp- meeting to create a vivid picture of how Captain Auld went to a church but is guilty of religious hypocrisy. Douglass interprets the transformation of Captain Auld after his meeting as to before when, “…my master attended a Methodist camp-meeting held in the Bayside, Talbot County, and there experienced religion”(66). Douglass analyzes the aftermath of this meeting because, “It neither made him more humane to his slaves, nor to emancipate them…it made him more cruel and hateful in all his ways…but after his conversion, he found religious sanction and support for his slave-holding cruelty” (66). Douglass is pouring out Auld’s religious hypocrisy.  He goes to this church meeting and when he comes back he is even more cruel and inhumane than when he first left which Douglass, “…hates the corrupt, slave-holding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial and hypocritical Christianity of this land”(Appendix).  Douglass shows his emotions towards his masters and slaveholders about their religious hypocrisy all the way in the appendix. He’s referring back to all the corrupt times and the time where he whipped the slave women right in front of him.  As Douglass verbalizes negative and non human-like characteristics about Auld, he builds a valid argument because Captain Auld goes to this Methodist camp and comes back even worse than when he left, therefore, committing religious hypocrisy.

When Douglass brings forth the idea that he’s not even allowed to pray without permission from Captain  Auld, he commits religious hypocrisy every day. Douglass explains the attribute of Captain Auld’s house and how he, “ …proved himself an instrument in the hands of the church in converting many souls. His house was the preachers house”(66). Douglass is comparing Auld’s home to a church and says they had three or four preachers there at a time which means he allowed prayer and religious activity.  Douglass recognizes that, “His house was a house of prayer.  He prayed morning, noon, and night”(66-67), however, Auld wouldn’t even let his slaves pray most of the time yet, he prayed every time of the day.   slaves did enjoy, “ When he(Mr. Cookman) was at our house, we were sure to be called into prayer”(67), however, “When the others were there, we were sometimes called in and sometimes not(67).   Douglass builds his argument that Captain Auld is a religious hypocrite when, even though he is allowing four preachers into his “house of preachers” and “house prayers”, he is he is praying every minute of the day but won’t allow his slaves to come in and pray.

Similar to Auld’s “house of prayer” Douglass has a Sabbath School that teaches slaves to read the New Testament and when this is all taken away from him, Captain Auld along with many others are guilty to religious hypocrisy.  During his time at St. Michaels, Douglass explains that there was a guy named Mr. Wilson who, “…proposed to keep a Sabbath School…to learn to read the New Testament. We met but three times…(Mr. West and Mr. Fairbanks)came upon us with the sticks and other missiles, drove us off, and forbade us to meet again”(68).  Douglass highlights that he can’t even attempt to teach slaves to read the bible, thus, by doing this, Mr. West; Mr. Fairbanks; Captain Auld; and many others commit religious hypocrisy.  Along with the Sabbath School incident, Douglass witnesses a horrific viewing of Auld whipping a young woman. While he did so, “…he would quote this passage of scripture-’he that knoweth his master’s will, and doeth it not, shall be beat with many stripes”(68). In Luke 12:47, the meaning of “master” is not referring to a slave-holding master.  It is The Jesus Christ master, and the consequences, as Luke says, is being beaten which is the chastisement for disobeying the Great master, not a slave master.  His master, “…found religious sanction for his cruelty”(67) which means he found religious peace and satisfaction for his actions.  Auld is doing wrong and figuring that if it pleases him, then it pleases whom he worships.  Therefore, he finds religious peace in his wrongdoings.

Douglass speaks many times of his views of religious hypocrisy in the South and how he doesn’t have the freedom of religion that the slaveholders and masters possess. Douglass’ masters wouldn’t even let him pray so there could be no way a religion could be further spread.  With the use of church, prayer, and the Sabbath School, Douglass tries to persuade that religious hypocrisy influenced his everyday life negatively and that his masters were very hypocritical and cruel by using verses and religious references.  Douglass acknowledges that not everyone has the desire to be religious like he does and some people, like Captain Auld, just don’t accept it.  Therefore, he scrutinizes the life of hypocrisy and expresses his disapproval of that life.