Laying Claim to Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Legacy
This essay assesses the oft-made link between Walter Rauschenbusch and Martin Luther King Jr. Denying neither Rauschenbusch's influence on King nor King's social gospel status, it nevertheless questions the way historians locate Rauschenbusch's legacy in King and the civil rights move...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Wiley-Blackwell
[2020]
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| In: |
Journal of religious ethics
Year: 2020, Volume: 48, Issue: 1, Pages: 26-44 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Rauschenbusch, Walter 1861-1918
/ King, Martin Luther 1929-1968
/ Civil rights movement
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| RelBib Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy KBQ North America NCD Political ethics |
| Further subjects: | B
Civil Rights Movement
B economic justice B Race B Walter Rauschenbusch B Martin Luther King Jr B Social Gospel |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | This essay assesses the oft-made link between Walter Rauschenbusch and Martin Luther King Jr. Denying neither Rauschenbusch's influence on King nor King's social gospel status, it nevertheless questions the way historians locate Rauschenbusch's legacy in King and the civil rights movement. This strategy, however unintentionally, reproduces the white social gospel's "astigmatism" on race and undermines the contributions of black social gospel (and other neglected) leaders even as revised histories affirm them. After exploring King's references to Rauschenbusch and Rauschenbusch's reflections on race, the paper compares their theologies. This comparison reveals key differences on race and economic justice that ramify across Rauschenbusch's and King's distinctive articulations of social gospel categories, further complicating historians' claims on King. Oversimplifying the connection between these important figures in religious ethics distorts theological understanding of social gospel legacies and compromises their power for future generations. |
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| ISSN: | 1467-9795 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of religious ethics
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1111/jore.12300 |