American History/Government

American History /Government

King and the Constitution The political activism of Dr . Martin Luther King Jr . calls into question not only the issue of civil disobedience , but the ramifications of religious and political ideologies and their relationship to the rule of law , specifically the United States Constitution . King 's rationalization for acts of civil disobedience is based on spiritual , as well as moral and political ideology this fact necessitates that King 's activism be regarded as existing in opposition to the tenants of the Constitution , if not for its blatant endorsing

of "just " law-breaking for its overt breach of the Constitutional separation of church and state "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion (Constitution , 31 . Obviously , King 's attempt to redress the moral failings which he believed were inherent in the American political system was based not only on a formal religious doctrine , but on spiritual faith

The expression of non-violent activism by King relied as much on spiritual conviction as that of political ideology . This conviction brought about an adherence to a concept of breaking "unjust " laws as a method of civil disobedience . King found justification for the breaking of social laws by the invocation of Divine Power . The result was that King experienced some difficulty in making his racial and social activism truly universal , although such a desire to do so formed an underlying precept of his overall strategy for social and political change . In a rather unique twist of philosophy , King opted to...