Tubman’s religious beliefs weren’t simply something she talked about on Sundays. Her faith was deeply connected to the way she understood her life and her decisions.
She believed God was guiding her.
She prayed.
She listened.
She trusted.
And she believed that if she was being called to help people reach freedom, she had to keep moving even when the road ahead looked impossible.
Her faith became even more significant after she suffered a serious head injury as a young woman.
While enslaved, Tubman was struck in the head by a heavy weight thrown by an overseer. The injury affected her for the rest of her life.
She experienced episodes of unconsciousness and vivid dreams, and she interpreted many of these experiences through her Christian faith.
Today, people may understand those experiences differently.
Some may see them primarily through a medical lens.
Others may see them spiritually.
But one thing is clear: faith played a major role in how Harriet Tubman understood her life.
And that faith helped shape the woman who became known as “Moses.”
She didn’t know exactly what every step would bring.
She simply believed she had to take the next one.
That kind of courage is easy to admire from a distance.
