What Role Does Religion Play In The Civil Rights Movement Essay

Jordan Blodgett

Mr. Peters

English 101

April 18, 2023

The Role of Religion in the Civil Rights Movement Malcom X once said “The hardest test I ever faced in my life was praying.” This is because when you are facing diversity it can be difficult to pray to a god that has yet to do anything about your struggles. We can see this in everyday life, people struggle to trust in their beliefs. We usually only turn to our “beliefs” when we are struggling, we only ask our god for help when we need it, we do not necessarily give him the attention when we are at peace with where we are in life. Yet I will show you three people who in the good and the bad depended on their beliefs. People who leaned on the church and on god for strength. Religion has

John Lewis took part in non-violent protests throughout his involvement in the Civil Rights Movement. One of the non-violent protests John Lewis participated in was the student lunch sit-ins. This sit-in was one of the many John Lewis participated in. Another influencer of non-violent or peaceful protests is Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi was an extremely religious person, who was famous for his philosophy that inspired civil rights leaders across the world. One of Gandhi’s non-violent protests was against a salt ban, in this protest Gandhi leads a March to the sea where Indians can make their own salt. Gandhi was inspired to lead non-violent protest after he was introduced to ahimsa, which was introduced to him through the Jain Monks. Ahimsa is the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jainist respect for all living things and avoidance of violence towards others. Ahimsa can be said to have influenced all non violent protests throughout the Civil Rights Movement. In the March book one Lewis stares “he spoke of Gandhi, this little brown man from India using the way of nonviolence to free an entire nation of people. (Lewis, Adin, Powell

Lewis states “What I really wanted to be was a preacher. An uncle gave me a bible for Christmas when I was four” (26). This shows us that one of Lewis’ first memories is receiving a bible, and that this had a strong enough impact to make him want to be a preacher. Lewis states “I’ll never forget my mother reading aloud to me the first words in that book” (26). Lewis then goes on to describe how by the time he was five he was reading the Bible himself, even though he could not completely comprehend the message. Lewis would even preach to his chickens, he believed that they understood him and he even says “They would bow their heads, they would shake their heads” (27). Implying that the chickens understood him and enjoyed his sermones. This shows how devoted to the church Lewis was, and how much he craved to be a bigger part in the church. Lewis went on to give his first sermon five days before he turned sixteen after being inspired by hearing Martin Luther King Jr.’s social gospel on the radio. Then Lewis learned about a workshop on non-violence held at the first baptist church. While attending this workshop, Lewis’ heard from missionaries along with other religious leaders to learn about nonviolent protests from a religious perspective. Lewis practiced experiencing the nasty things that would happen to him during a sit-in; while doing this, Lewis was taught to love his