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Reconstructing Nonviolence: The Political Theology of Martin Luther King Jr. after Feminism and Womanism
- Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics
- The Society of Christian Ethics
- Volume 32, Number 1, Spring/Summer 2012
- pp. 75-92
- 10.1353/sce.2012.0018
- Article
- Additional Information
SCHOLARS OFTEN VIEW MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO political theology in the context of his philosophy of nonviolence. Drawing on feminist and womanist thought, I reconstruct King’s theopolitical practice to construe nonviolence more broadly as including any “agapic activity” that forms and sustains community. In doing so, I uncover in King’s thought a conception of agape that resonates with feminist emphasis on the relational and community-oriented nature of love, and I draw on womanist thought to highlight the role of creativity, not solely love or justice, to King’s ethical thinking. Both emphases suggest a vision of churches as communities of creativity with community-creating practices at the heart of their political roles.