How did economic differences between north and south contribute to their different views towards slavery?

The South depended totally on the cotton trade, which needed slave labor. The North was rapidly industrialising and had no use for slavery.

The difference in attitude could be summed-up like this. When the slavery debate really started to heat-up in the 1850's, both sides put pressure on the churches to preach the official line.

Northern ministers preached that slavery was an ungodly system, and a sin against humans created in the image of Our Lord. Southern ones preached that slavery was a perfect God-given arrangement of man and master.