Why Do Churches Participate In Social Movements?

During the Civil Rights Movement, churches served as places of refuge and inspiration. For example, on March 26, 1958, as shown in March, Jim Lawson conducted a workshop on non-violence at First Baptist Church in Downtown Nashville. Though this was a small gathering, it was one point where the importance of applying nonviolence across the country to fight the evils that everyone faced- “The evil of racism, the evil of poverty, the evil of war” (Lewis and Aydin 1:77)- began to be emphasized. These were evils that many had battled for thousands of years, and the Civil Rights Movement aimed to defeat some of them directed towards African Americans. Lawson conveyed his ideas with a sense of urgency; it was important to establish philosophies, discipline, and understanding as soon as possible. Reflecting on

Within Christian communities, enthusiasm to respond to injustice around the world with compassion continues to increase. Regrettably, well-meaning people who have good intentions but neglect to consider best practice principles are ultimately doing a disservice to the individuals and communities they intended to help. Moreover, a lack of understanding of holistic social action results in dependency and disregards the dignity of the poor. In From the Roots Up, Dr. JoAnn Butrin challenges Christians, both individually and as the larger body of Christ- the church, to respond to injustice thoughtfully and holistically. Butrin (2010) asserts:

The actions that people make around us can help us succeed as a society. In The Book of Martha, Martha’s actions helped solve a huge problem that humanity faced: greed. The human mind is capable of experiencing many emotions, and though we try to avoid negative emotions, there are times when we are victims to our own mind. In reality, humans have more negative characteristics other than greed. By practicing religion, one can find a way to better themselves. Our community and society revolves around our belief of a higher being. Through the teachings of God, we make decisions that will benefit our society. A way in which people practice their religion is by attending mass, held at a church. The church that I decided to visit is called, “The Parish of Santa Rosa,” in which I got the chance to interview one of the Pastors.

Social movements are not spontaneous events, and they must build towards their goals over time on a series of phases and preconditions. Successful social movements rely on a number of micro and macro factors including efficient organizational structures, the ability to mobilize human and material resources, as well as effective leadership and rapid diffusion of ideas. As it will be shown, the presence of mobilizing structures, movement frames as well as suitable political opportunities combined with reactionary incentives during the Civil Rights Movement helped culminate both short and long term societal changes.

Galindo analyzes that the fundamental “mission” of a congregation is the same as any other congregation that exists in any part of the world. He argues that though every congregation has a mission and a vision, at the same time, it shares a basic common mission. (43) This reminds me of my home church The First Church of Evanston and my Field Site, The Evanston Vineyard Church. Both churches have a common mission of welcoming people to the church, irrespective of their ethnic, cultural, racial, and economic and, gender backgrounds. The mission is to help people be received in the house of God with due and deserved Christian love so that they feel loved and welcomed. Both these churches encourage church attendees to attend the service and receive the Eucharist.

Another strength of the article is when Briggs begins to summarize his thoughts and proof of involvement to stress his point. He says that within the World Council of Churches the Baptists make up the most membership and that they act as “members of staff, as members of vital committees and commissions, and as office holders. I think we punch well above our weight in these respects.”3 These numbers and offices help to prove his point that Baptists are not as separated and as anti-ecumencial as some may observe them to be. He goes on to add that there are other levels of involvement that range from regional to national in Christian aid organizations.

The civil rights movement was a success was because of its religious leaders and how they inspired people. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was most influential on the non-violent approach. Dr. King enforced that violence was not going to get anything solved. Anne did not agree with Dr. King on the nonviolent approach because she did not see anything positive coming from it in a timely manner. Little did she know, Dr. King’s nonviolence resistance would be what got noticed? Anne Moody was brought up in the church, and was very active while she was there. Anne lost her faith, after the bombing of the church, which killed four innocent girls. In the book Anne talked about how the older people focused on heaven, while people her age just tried to better themselves. Religious beliefs played an important role in African Americans lives. Although African Americans were going through so many negative things, they never doubted their God. To African Americans church was a place where they were considered “free” despite what society thought. They saw that their skin color did not matter, but that they were all equal in God’s eyes. A few of the religious leaders who helped with the movement were Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Andrew Young, and Jesse Jackson. “Religion is the crucial ingredient that kept the movement alive in the face of death, poverty and large scale

“The church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society.” Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 1963. This quote from Rev. King, Jr. most of the time is linked to his defense of the strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism; but Rev King, Jr was first a Pastor and a Preacher! I chose this opening because Rev King despite being jailed for protesting, loved the church, just like apostles Paul, Silas, Peter, and many others. Despite their circumstances and being able to prophecy their future, they still loved the church and wanted it to better itself. Rev. King spoke about his love for the church very strongly in this letter and in this letter how he came from a legacy of preachers (father, grandfather and great grandfather), so he had seen the good and the bad in the church. So now in the 21st century, has the church, specifically

During Martin Luther King Jr.’s campaign for equal rights, the harassment, beating and killing of African Americans happened on a daily basis. Most members of the white community saw the inequality and brutality, but few from the Church stepped between the African Americans and the bigoted white mob who viewed themselves as higher beings. In his Letter from Birmingham Jail, King expresses his disappointment in the Christian Church for sitting by and even condemning the plight of the African Americans, but taking little to no action when they had the ability to invoke a change in society. If the Church had cast aside its divisions between black and white, then it could have been a major catalyst for change that reinvented America’s society.

2012. p. 306). When people attend church, they have their fellow church members; they can talk with about their problems. The church members can support each other through whatever trauma they may be experiencing.

The author mentions several major incidents that served as catalyst to the uprising of activist who speak out against the aforementioned and the he challenges the church to step up and be the salt and light to the world. He highlights four biblical traits we as a church should display in the face of such circumstances.

Social movements shed light to social issues present in communities and harvest social change in political, religious, educational, health, government, and other institutional matters. Social movements give individuals a clear outlet to concerns about the rights and well-being of themselves and others, mostly through public protest and conversation, in order to promote social justice and democracy. Throughout history, humans naturally ended up starting movements to simply improve their way of life and movements have continually aided in a remarkable change in communities. In the essay “From Civil Rights to Megachurches,” Charles Duhigg explains the three critical steps that initiative successful social movements. Social movements must

Protecting the rights and dignity of the poor and oppressed is the most important moral duty of the church.’ Critically evaluate this statement with reference to Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Luther King.

Logically speaking, Christian church involvement would definitely strengthen this movement by simply adding more people who support it. According to ABCnews.com polls, about 83% of the American population identify as Christians. Even with involvement in #BlackLivesMatter with half of the aforementioned Christians and their churches, this would significantly boost the awareness of the issue. Dr. Jan E. Leighley, a professor at American University who focuses on ethnic political behavior explores this study. In her book, Strength in Numbers?: The Political Mobilization of Racial and Ethnic Minorities, she studies how group size can affect political mobilization. She explains the study of racial politics in the South and how the impact of a large

Religion is a major foundation for many cultures. It is present all over the world in many different shapes and forms. But all religions have one thing in common, communality. Naturally, with rituals such as congregation people of religion are brought together. This community worships together, but this relationship extends further than the confines of a church. Members of the same church, or religion, have the same core values, and these commonalities result in a community that would not have otherwise existed. When there is a disregard for religion, there is a loss of community and thus a step