In the early years of the United States, openly condemning slavery in the South could cost a preacher his position. This was the reality faced by James M. Gilliland, a Presbyterian minister whose opposition to slavery led to his dismissal from his church in South Carolina in 1804.
James Gilliland was born on October 28, 1769, in Lincoln County, North Carolina. He grew up in a farming family. His father had served during the American Revolutionary War and, like many men of his time in the South, owned enslaved Africans.
Gilliland later pursued formal education and enrolled at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He graduated in 1792. During his time at the college, Gilliland encountered moral and religious arguments against slavery that would later shape his views.
Churches and the Biblical Defense of Slavery
By the late eighteenth century, slavery had become deeply embedded in southern society, and many Christian ministers, like Robert Lewis Dabney, Alexander McCaine, Rev Basil Manly S., defended the system by citing passages from the Bible.
Some pastors pointed to verses in the Old Testament that described slavery as an accepted social institution. Others cited New Testament passages such as Ephesians 6:5, which instructs servants to obey their masters, or Colossians 3:22, which contains similar instructions. These verses were often interpreted as evidence that slavery was sanctioned by God himself.
As a result, many churches argued that slavery was not sinful as long as masters treated enslaved Africans with what they described as “Christian kindness.” Ministers who held this view frequently used their pulpits to reassure slaveholders that their practices were compatible with Christianity.
This theological position created an environment in which clergy who condemned slavery could face strong opposition.
Ministry in South Carolina
After completing his education, Gilliland entered the Presbyterian ministry. In 1794 he was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of South Carolina and became pastor of a Presbyterian congregation in Belton, South Carolina.
From early in his ministry, Gilliland believed that slavery was morally wrong and incompatible with Christianity. He preached openly against the practice, declaring that enslaving human beings violated Christian teachings.
These sermons soon put him at odds with members of his congregation who relied on enslaved labor, as well as with church leaders. In that region, slavery was deeply woven into the social and economic order, and publicly condemning it was seen as a direct challenge to the stability of the community.
Gilliland’s views created serious tension within the church. Some members of the congregation protested his ordination because of his anti slavery stance. The dispute eventually reached church authorities.
At one point, the regional Presbyterian synod ordered Gilliland not to discuss slavery in his sermons. Although he obeyed the directive for several years, the underlying conflict remained unresolved.
Gilliland believed slavery was a moral wrong that Christians should condemn. But many church members and leaders believed ministers should avoid challenging the institution.
By April 1804 the conflict reached a breaking point. Gilliland was formally dismissed from his pastorate in Belton because of the ongoing controversy surrounding his anti slavery views.
After leaving South Carolina, Gilliland traveled through Kentucky before settling in Brown County, Ohio later in 1804.
He became pastor of the Red Oak Presbyterian Church and remained there for the rest of his life. Unlike the environment he had left in the South, the communities of southern Ohio were more receptive to anti slavery views.
Gilliland served as pastor of the Red Oak congregation for thirty seven years. During this time he continued speaking against slavery and became part of the growing abolitionist movement in the region.
Southern Ohio later became an important corridor for the Underground Railroad, the informal network that helped enslaved Africans escape from slave states to free territory.
Gilliland’s community became associated with this movement. Under his influence, Brown County developed a reputation as a place where Africans escaping slavery could find assistance and protection.
Despite the controversies surrounding his views, Gilliland was remembered by many in his community as a humble and respected minister. In later years he became widely known as “Father Gilliland.”
James Gilliland died on February 1, 1845, in Red Oak, Ohio, at the age of seventy six, leaving behind his wife and their thirteen children.
Although he is not among the most famous abolitionists in American history, Gilliland represents an early generation of ministers who challenged slavery from the pulpit. His dismissal from a church in South Carolina reveals how controversial such views were in the early nineteenth century.
Sources:
https://www.redoakpresbyterianchurch.org/rev-gilliland
https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/44245
https://stories.cincinnatipreservation.org/items/show/146#:~:text=Reverend%20James%20Gilliland%20was%20born,and%20the%20state%20of%20Ohio.
