Social Change, Civil Rights, and the Human Condition: A Religious Approach to King's Nonviolent Philosophy

For those who seek to grapple with violence, conflicts, wars, and conundrums across the globe, a timely religious and ethical consideration of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King's nonviolent philosophy is timely. King's critical response to the "three evils of society"–racism, militarism, and materialism (poverty)–represents a point of departure for considering the movement that emerged from his philosophical thinking. These three evils are sites of ethical inquiry and engagement where one can consider how social change, civil rights, and the human condition carry religious intonations in King's nonviolent philosophy. How does King's nonviolent philosophy empower displaced or dehumanized persons? How does his philosophy utilize religious elements (e.g., moral and ethical inquiry, sense of community, and Divine-centeredness) to pursue liberation?

A close examination of King's nonviolence philosophy, then, uncovers live, existential options for helping disenfranchised and oppressed groups organize around a collective call to eradicate injustice. As King noted in "Showdown for Violence," deploying a nonviolent philosophy as a form of militancy can "awaken the conscience" of those who purport hegemonic and supremacist ideals. King's decision to focus on collective power, the human condition, and social change details a far more comprehensive range of options. It carries a greater import than what the term "philosophy" connotes. We are interested in unpacking King's philosophy to consider its global reach and religious impact. What ethical work does King's nonviolent philosophy perform or preclude? How does a singular Western conception of King's philosophy limit its international implications and undermine King's ethical significance? Our panel views this session, ranging from Western to Eastern notions of King's nonviolent philosophy, as a cross-cultural, comparative discussion of the religious elements found in King's nonviolent philosophy.

Our panel will include a faculty member who is an educator and researcher of World Christianity, a DEI consultant and practitioner working for the American Red Cross (system would not allow me to add this panelist), and a doctoral candidate exploring how faith and suffering inform and overlap each other in the philosophy of religion and the Black intellectual tradition. Our panel aims to open new avenues for considering the religious undertones that support King's nonviolent philosophy and to demonstrate the fruitfulness of King's thinking amid tragedy. We welcome the opportunity for another paper and moderator to join our panel and discussion.

The first paper will examine how King's "Pledge to Nonviolence" (1963) outlines a plan for seeking justice and reconciliation to achieve equity. The philosophy of the nonviolent movement as a belief system mirrors the principles of respecting the life and dignity of every person without prejudiced notions, rejecting all forms of discrimination and exclusion, and devoting resources to uplift underdeveloped communities from political and social oppression. In promoting these ideals, King followed the nine fundamental principles of "Satyagraha," namely, focusing on self-reliance, propagating tactics, upholding basic principles of actions, and many others. The paper will explore how the noble, fundamental rules of Satyagraha achieve justice for the Dalit Christians in India who are facing discrimination because of their Christian faith.

The second paper will consider how King's nonviolent philosophy builds on the Social Gospel movement and 19th-century philosophy. King adopts Walter Rauschenbusch's approach to transforming social injustices (namely, the three evils of society) through religion and Hegel's dialogical approach to consider creative responses to tensions between faith and suffering. The deplorable and tragic injustices affecting the Black community and marginalized persons around the globe led King to re-orient his nonviolent philosophy as both a tactic of civil disobedience and 'a way of life.' In "Nonviolence and Radical Justice" (1957), King examines the existential crises beleaguering disinherited communities and how the three evils of society have caused them to become disheartened. The article conjoins love and redemption as alternatives for violence. In the paper, I plan to consider three questions: Can Kingian nonviolence effectively construct a love ethic strong enough to overcome the three systemic evils found in the world? How does nonviolence leverage Christian tenets to transform suffering and hate? How can a nonviolent philosophy redress the evils of the past?

The final paper will explore inequities in women's health through the lens of intersectionality. Throughout his life, King supported gender equality and acknowledged the interconnectedness of various forms of oppression. King's nonviolent philosophy sought to alleviate racial and gender inequities. The recent overturning of Roe v. Wade, Alabama's Supreme Court's ruling on frozen embryos, and Black women's high maternal mortality rate reflect an eerie retreat on the importance of women's health. Despite science and technology making significant strides in women's health, women are encountering a rising number of adverse effects undermining the social change and advances made by King and others. To better understand the importance of raising awareness around women's health and social change, this paper will consider how the religious undertones upholding King's nonviolent philosophy require reexamination. How can the religious beliefs the Supreme Court used to inform their decision to overturn Roe v. Wade create a beloved community and a nonviolent philosophy?