Religion And Social Protest Flashcards
The relationaship between religion and social change
Steve Bruce (2003) is interested in the relationship between religion and social change. He looks at two examples:
The American civil rights movement
The New Christian Right
Facts we need to know
Bruce argues that the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s is a good example of how religion can motivate social change.
Despite the abolition of slavery in 1865, black people in the USA still faced segregation from many public amenities and were often excluded from voting.
The American Civil Rights Movement started in 1955 when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus as black people were expected to do. After almost ten years of campaigning segregation was outlawed.
DR MARTIN LUTHER KING (Bruce)
Bruce argues that the backbone of the movement was the black clergy led by Martin Luther King who himself was a Baptist Minister.
The church became a place of refuge during the threat of white violence and hymns and prayers were seen as creating a sense of unity. Bruce argues that the Clergy were able to shame whites into changing laws by appealing to their shared Christian values of equality.
Religion as a resource
Bruce sees religion in this sense as an ideological resource- it provided beliefs and practices that protesters could draw on for motivation and support.
Using the civil rights movement as an example, he identifies several ways in which religious organisations are well equipped to support protests and contribute to social change…
Taking the moral high ground
Channeling dissent
Acting as honest broker
Mobilising public opinion
Taking the moral high ground
Black clergy highlighted the hypocrisy of the white clergy who preached ‘love thy neighbor’.
Channeling dissent
Religion provided people with a platform to channel their dissent; for example, the funeral of Martin Luther King has been seen as an occasion where people came together to show their support for the campaign.
Acting as honest broker
As churches are often seen as acting above the mere politics- they are seen as being able to negotiate between the two sides.
Mobilising public opinion
Black churches in the south were successful in gaining support from across the whole of America.
Who are the New Christian Right and how did they emerge
A politically motivated conservative fundamentalist religious group.
In the 1960’s in opposition to the liberalising of American Society.
What do the New Christian Right Want
To take America back to God and make abortion, homosexuality, gay marriage & divorce all illegal. They have campaigned to teach creationism in schools and ban sex education too. They have used new technology to spread their message and have aligned themselves with the Republican party!
However are the new Christian right successful
Bruce argues that unlike the Civil Rights Movement, the New Christian Right have not been successful in instigating social change. Bruce suggests these reasons:
1)They find it very difficult to cooperate with other religions, even when they have the similar views on things like abortion.
2) Most Americans are comfortable with legalising activities that they personally believe are immoral and unwilling to accept other people’s definition of how they should live their lives!
3) The majority of Americans do not believe in the literal meaning of the Bible and are therefore not likely to conform to the ideals of the movement. As Bruce points out it is an impossible demand in a mature democracy.
