How Does Religion Influence The Civil Rights Movement

These definitions will be the parameters used for the discussion of the role of religion and churches in the civil rights era. This essay will discuss the views and influence that various Churches and religions had on the civil rights era. It will examine the differing historian?s views of religious influence on the civil rights era. [1: Oxford

Many of them were financially independent and therefore were able to represent an independent voice in the community.?[footnoteRef:11] [11: The Role of Religion in the Civil Rights Movements]

The ability to have financially independent supporters greatly enhanced the Movement. They were able to campaign without paying speakers and hence were able to reach more people with their message. Most preachers are skilled orators and hence The Civil Rights Movement gained its second requirement. Rev Martin Luther King today is widely recognised as a seminal leader in the Civil Rights Movement. King first became involved with the Movement during the 1950s and through his skilled oration promoted its cause until his

Judaism and Islam also played their roles. Let us first consider the role of Judaism. Most Jews and their leaders were in favour of the movement. The most famous was Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, whose photo marching arm in arm with King in Selma in 1965 has become an iconic image of Jewish civil rights activism, and whose description of that march as "praying with my legs"[footnoteRef:20] is often cited. Not all Rabbis approved or wanted to get involved with the movement. Rabbi Grafman tried to be neutral, prioritizing the safety of the Jewish community and stated that segregation was a "Christian problem" between whites and blacks. In April 1963, when King and the SCLC began a campaign against Birmingham businesses, Grafman was one of eight clergy who wrote a statement criticizing King for the timing of the demonstrations, which coincided with white moderates working on a referendum election that would improve race relations. Historians also recognise the Jewish influence on the movement. In The God of the Oppressed Cone describes the Christian/Jewish God as ?being involved in a political or social struggle on the side of the oppressed people?[footnoteRef:21] Cone likens the civil rights movement to the Jews? exodus from Egypt. This gave African Americans hope. They saw themselves as the Jews, with God on their sides, and saw whites as the evil Egyptians, who would be punished. [20: Jewish