Devotion to Jesus has been a large part of the African-American experience 

According to the information from the web sites The History Engine, BBC and Scholar (links are added below) slave owners had many justifications for why holding people in bondage was acceptable. Often, religion came into play, on both the slavery and anti-slavery sides of the debate. In 1835, at the end of two long articles about religion and slavery in the Charleston Mercury, it was said that both the Old and New Testament give permission to hold others as slaves. In the Old Testament, God and the Patriarchs approve. As for the New Testament, Jesus and the Apostles show that slavery is permissible.

Slaveholders believed that slavery would liberate Africans from their savage-like ways, especially if they were infused with Christianity. As religion ran deep through slavery, white Christian slaveholders argued that slavery was a necessary evil because it would control the sinful, less humane, black race.

Religion was also a driving force during slavery in the Americas. Once they arrived at their new locales the enslaved Africans were subjected to various processes to make them more compliant, and Christianity formed part of this. Ironically, although the assertion of evangelisation was one of the justifications for enslaving Africans, very little missionary work actually took place during the early years. In short, religion got in the way of a moneymaking venture by taking Africans away from their work. It also taught them potentially subversive ideas and made it hard to justify the cruel mistreatment of fellow Christians.

Day after day, the Africans cultivated crops, tended to animals, and served their "owners" in any way possible. Sixteen to eighteen hours of work was the norm on most West Indian plantations, and during the season of sugarcane harvest, most slaves only got four hours of sleep. The punishment for disobeying an order was far worse than just accepting what was asked. This treatment of the slaves created anger and hatred towards the white plantation owners, feelings that the slaves could vent in only one way: resistance. Yet for resistance to succeed, the slaves needed to share some common values. Those slaves who were able to convert to Christianity were able to create such a bond through a common religion. In turn, this unity served as a way to resist the atrocities the plantation owners imposed on them.

Thus, for many slaves, Christianization served as a means of resistance throughout the period of the slave trade and as a means of education and conflict resolution.

https://historyengine.richmond.edu/episodes/view/3535

https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/history/slavery_1.shtml

https://scholar.library.miami.edu/slaves/slave_trade/individual_essays/jeffrey.html