Martin Luther King Jr.’s Theological Evolution and the Impact of the (Black) Social Gospel on His Political Views
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12797/AdAmericam.25.2024.25.05Keywords:
Black Church, Martin Luther King Jr., social gospel, Black social gospel, religion and politics, King scholarship, academic debateAbstract
Parts of this research were also supported by the Excellence Initiative – Research University program at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow (POB FutureSoc; WSMiP.5.2.2023.23)
The aim of this article is to analyze Martin Luther King Jr.’s theological evolution and to present theological ideas that influenced his political views, paying special attention to the (Black) social gospel. The article also provides an overview of the academic debate among King scholars who differ in opinions on the importance of various elements of his theological outlook and their influence on his activism. Referring to Gary Dorrien’s definition and analysis of the influence of the Black social gospel, a tradition of the Black Church that was often omitted in earlier analyses, I will discuss his contribution to this debate.
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