I just watched a video revealing how the Catholic Church was an active participant in the slave trade in Angola. It was thought by the Church elders that slavery was "good" for the Africans. Just before the newly captured Angolans were marched for three days to waiting slave ships (a grueling trek, during which many died), the captives were forced to be baptized and to make "the sign of the cross". After making this Catholic gesture, the slaves arms were then cruelly shackled for the duration of their journey to, among other places, the American south. This is a piece of history I knew nothing about . . . And it made me wonder how many people of African heritage would continue to adhere to Christian beliefs if they knew the full story about the religious circumstances under which their ancestors were enslaved.