Religious freedom is one of the most prized liberties of the American people, a fact that strikes some people as incongruous if they think of the United States as a secular society. That very phrase however is misleading, in that it implies a society in which religion and religious ideals are absent, and secular values alone govern daily conduct. In the contrary, religion is not absent from daily life in the United States, rather, the constitution has created a system in which each individual and religious group can enjoy the full freedom to worship, not only free from the government but from the other sects as well. One of the great social revolutions that accompanied America’s rebellion from England and the adoption of the constitution and bill of rights was the formal separation of church and state, first by former colonies and then by the federal government.

This notion of full freedom of religious exercise in the constitution has made of it a protected right. In the case of black people, former slaves who are now Christianized, white slave owners, to make them easier to control stripped African slaves of their cultural heritage and turned them into Christians. The church became then the only way to survive spiritually and to keep the bonds of tradition and connection within the black community. As a center of community life, black churches would hold a leadership role in the civil rights movement. Their history as a key element for the black community and as the link between the black and the white world, made them natural for the purpose. The role of the church was not merely to serve as a place for religious practice, but a place for decisions involving the resolution of the black community matters. This is so very true that one of the most important struggles the world has ever known in terms of civil rights had been led from 1955 to 1968 by a black American Baptist pastor Martin Luther King Jr. 

The improvement of the black people’s conditions in all, is to a large extent the result of a great contribution of religious organizations. This article intends to shed light on this particular period of the history of American where religion, mainly the black church, had a great contribution to racial equality. The first part of this work will lay the emphasis on the historical context which has favored the development of religion and the founding of the black church. The second part is devoted to the religious view of the philosophy of nonviolence; a successful tool in the civil rights movement. The last part focuses on the multiplication of churches and the creation of religious organizations leading the fight against racial segregation.

The Roots of Free Religious Practice

The achievement of free religious practice, which has led to the setting of black churches, has been the result of a long process and a historical favorable context. This quest for religious liberty drew the Pilgrim Fathers from England to America. Once settled in America, the pursuit of this free religious exercise will not die out. 

They got their independence from England and passed a bill to guarantee religious freedom. After so many years under white people leadership, the former slaves will see in religion a way of liberation and decide to step aside from white churches and create their own. These churches will be then turned into flowering places of protest, with the birth of religious organizations fighting for civil rights.

Religious freedom: a long-standing right

As we have already mentioned above, the first settlers in America were religious dissenters, they left England not only for economic reasons, but to enjoy their religious freedom. This does not mean that religious freedom as we know it today, fully existed at that time, but the seeds had been planted. The history of Western Europe from whence came the early settlers of the American colonies was marked by religious conformity from the fourth century, until the protestant reformation with the Catholic Church. We might think that the protestant reformation would have led to some toleration; in fact, one can find in the writings of Martin Luther and John Calvin some passages that plead for tolerance and freedom of conscience. But in those areas where Protestants gained control, they established their own churches. This should not be surprising because for Luther, we cannot consider that there is only one true faith and that all others need to be eradicated, or that in any state there can only be one church. 

The Protestants reformation split the religious unity of Europe and in some countries, religious differences led to bitter civil wars. Carl Anderson said that in the case of the United States, James Madison, one of the founding fathers had this story in mind when he wrote that “torrents of blood have been split in the world in vain attempts of the secular arm to extinguish religious discord, by proscribing all differences in religious opinion” [1], Although formal establishment lasted until 1776, in fact the colonies had to allow some degree of religious toleration without being clear about the separation between the Church and the State. This situation raised a problem in Virginia involving the establishment of full religious freedom, and the settlement of this issue by two of the great fathers of American nation Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, Will be the birth of religious liberty. Thomas Jefferson, author of the declaration of independence, and James Madison, known as the father of the constitution. Both would later serve as president of the United States. 

Thomas Jefferson had written a bill for religious freedom which provided that “no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place or ministery whatsoever” [2]. This bill was passed to the Virginian legislature and the problem was settled. He believed that religion is a personal matter between an individual and God, and therefore, beyond the reach of civil government. He did not limit this freedom to Protestants sects, or even to Christians, but all groups, and he considered this freedom not to be the gift of legislative session, but one of the natural rights of mankind. Jefferson left for Paris as an American minister to France, and the fight for religious liberty fell upon his friend and disciple James Madison, who wrote also one of the key documents in American religious history. The memorial and remonstrance against religious assessment, even if divided among all religions, nonetheless remained an establishment of religion and should therefore be opposed, no matter how mild or beneficent it appeared. In addition, the first amendment to the Unites States constitution says the following: “Congress make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting its free exercise...” [3].

The argument made over centuries ago still ring very strongly nowadays. It is then clear, for both Jefferson and Madison, that religion is so important and its free practice so essential to mankind’s happiness and well-being that it must be fully protected from the State. People should not be taxed either for an established church that they do not support, or even for support of their own church. Religion for them is better when it is let to the devotion of its followers. It is in this context of religious liberty that the African Americans who were slaves would set up their churches and start a new life.

The founding and mission of the Black Church

At first, slaves learned about christianity by attending services led by a white preacher or supervised by a white person. In such settings whites used the bible stories that reinforced the sense of place that each group had in society, urging slaves to be loyal and to obey their master. During the nineteenth century, they used stories such as the curse of Ham (The Holy Bible: Genesis 9.20-29) to justify slavery. (Cf Arthur de Gobineau). They promoted the idea that loyal and hardworking slaves would be rewarded in the afterlife. Sometimes slaves established Sabbath schools to talk about the scriptures and in some cases, those who were literate taught others to read, as Frederick Douglass did while enslaved as a young man in Maryland. Slave revolts in the early 1800’s, were often inspired by passages in the bible promising deliverance from slavery, as with the exodus out of Egypt, or by blacks’ preachers and assembly of blacks in group unsupervised by whites. A Presbyterian pastor, Cary Allen, proclaimed to the slaves: “The blessed Savior is dead and shed his blood for you as well as for your master. He has opened the door to heaven wide for you and invites you all to enter it” [4].

Slaves organized underground churches and hidden religious meetings, where slaves were free to put together evangelical christianity with African beliefs and African rhythms and turn traditional hymns into spiritual. The underground churches provided psychological refuge from the white world. The spiritual gave the church members a secret way to communicate and in some cases to plan rebellion. In 1831 Nat Turner a slave and Baptist preacher killed about 50 white men, women and children in an armed rebellion in Virginia. The building process of the Black Church will not be interrupted despite the hostility of some white preachers but will develop into a strong gathering place for worship and contention.  After emancipation, northern churches founded by free black, as well as those of predominantly white domination, sent missions to the south to teach the newly freed slaves, including to teach them to read and write. 

In 1870, the southern based Colored Methodist Episcopal (CME) church was founded. The National Baptist Convention which is now the largest black religious organization in the United States was founded in 1895. Bruno CHENU said however in his book Le Grand Livre Des Negro-Spirituals that:

“These churches, despite early efforts to integrate freed slaves in American society, racial segregation quickly became the norm in many states. Black preachers provided then leadership, encourage education and economic growth and address also social issues” [5].

The black churches held a leadership role in the American civil rights movement and witnessed the birth of a philosophy and religious doctrine known under the name of nonviolence and led by black pastors among whom Reverend Martin Luther King Jr, Ralph David Albernathy,Bernard Lee, to name a few.

Religion And the Philosophy of Nonviolence as A Weapon

Based on common sense and religious belief, nonviolence conveyed some guiding principles and full meaning to the activity of its followers. Both religion and common sense disapprove the use of violence as a solution. Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr among others have found in their religions principles of love and justice advocating to return good for evil and not to apply a tit for tat policy. Nonviolence promoters share secular and religious values according to which violence cannot but create violence, and American civil rights activists, as Christians, will put forwards their faith and personal conviction to reach their goal.

Nonviolence a religious and common-sense issue

Nonviolence is a philosophy and strategy for social change that rejects the use of physical violence. As such, nonviolence is an alternative to passive acceptance of oppression and armed struggle. Practitioners of nonviolence may use diverse methods in their campaigns for social change, including civil disobedience, direct actions, or targeted communication through the media. The term nonviolence is often linked with pacifism and in modern times, it has been a powerful tool for social protest and a leitmotiv of many religious leaders. Mohandas Gandhi for example, has led a long nonviolent struggle against British rule in India, this movement helped India win its independence in 1947. And about ten years later, Martin Luther King Jr adopted Gandhi’s nonviolent methods in his struggle to win civil rights for African Americans. In the 1960’s, Cesar Chavez organized a campaign of nonviolence to protest against the treatment of farm workers in California. These three leaders, to name a few, proved that people can bring about change without using violence, as Chavez explained “nonviolence is not inaction, it is not for the timid or the weak, it’s hard work it is the patience to win” [6].

In addition to that, it is a common sense that just means are the most likely to lead to just ends. When Gandhi said: “The means may be likened to the seed, the end to a tree”, he expressed the philosophical kernel of what some refer to as a prefugurative politics, and the embodiment of his notion of “Satyagraha”. “The end justifies the means” [6]. Martin Luther King, a student of Gandhian nonviolent resistance concurred with this concluding that nonviolence demands that the means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek. Proponents of nonviolence reason that the actions taken in the present inevitably re-shape the social order in like form. They would argue for instance that it is fundamentally irrational to use violence to achieve a peaceful society. Furthermore, the leaders of the American civil rights movement were aware that black people were politically powerless at that time, and that using violence to achieve their goal, will not only give the oppressor legitimate reasons of killing innocent people, but also will alienate society from their cause. 

In addition, retaliation is a vicious circle which is in contradiction with the principles of forgiveness and love. This point of view is also supported by many religions, advocating respect and love for opponents. This principle is most closely associated with spiritual or religious justification of nonviolence. This can be seen in the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus urges his followers to love their enemies. (The Holy Bible, Mathew 5:44)  In the Taoist concept of “Wu Wein”, effortless action of the Aikido martial art, and in the Buddhist principle of “Metta”, or loving kindness towards all beings, and the principle of “Ahimsa” in Jain religion, a Hindu reform movement of the sixth century B.C. This philosophy of respecting and loving the opponent shared by christianism, Buddhism and some forms of Hinduism, has a pragmatic justification in that the technique separating the deeds from the doers, allows for the possibility of the doers changing their behavior and perhaps their beliefs. 

Martin Luther King Jr. and the others believed that the power of love “Agape”, which was essential to nonviolent resistance, could be the most effective weapon against the social ills of society. Throughout the civil rights movement he promoted nonviolent resistance based on his personal conviction, but also his Christian beliefs. In the end, it proved to be the most successful method against an unjust system of racial segregation.

Christian religion principles and nonviolence

Promoted by other religions and experienced successfully by Mohandas Gandhi for the independence of India under the British domination, nonviolence will be used by the civil rights movement activists under the direction of their religious convictions. As Gandhi will refer to Hinduism, likewise the American civil rights activists will refer to Christianity and to the message of Jesus to overcome racial segregation. Nonviolence is deeply rooted in Christian principles of love, justice, peace and reconciliation. Jesus has taught them through the Bible that God loves all human beings without discrimination, and demands that his children love each other as he loves them. (The Holy Bible, Luke 10: 27) In addition, Jesus said that a good tree is to be recognized by its fruits, that is to say that violence solves no problem, in the contrary it creates problems. An American black theologian took the example of the Big Bang theory to explain the Incongruity of messing everything to get order. He said:

“How can you believe that we can have ordered things out of disorder? The world is so very well organized and so very well set to be the result of an explosion. Can you imagine a building to be more organized after the devastating effects of a bomb?” It is in natural law that disorder cannot generate order” [7].

The Bible made it clear in Mathew 7:17 “likewise, every good tree produces fine fruits, but every rotten tree produces worthless fruits”.  For the activists of nonviolence under christian influence, the establishment of justice in society requires just means, and since Jesus is on the side of justice, he will not fail to support the movement. “This movement will not stop because god is with the movement” [8]. King responded with what was the essential theological reason for his involvement in social issues as a Christian minister saying that: “I can see no conflict between the devotion to Jesus and our present action, in fact, I see a necessary relationship. If one is truly devoted to the religion of Jesus, he will seek to rid the earth of social evils. The gospel is social as well as personal” [8].

Above all, the sermon of the mount which is the foundation of social justice and truth, stressed on the theme of returning good for evil. “However, I say to you; do not resist him that is wicked, but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him”. (The Holy Bible, Mathew 5:39) They knew that the tit for tat policy promoted by some people would create a toothless and blind society, and that religious principles would have a fundamental role to play on black liberation from racial segregation.

The Role of Churches and Religious Organisations

Throughout the US history, religious preferences and racial segregation has favored the development of separated black churches as well as black churches with white denomination. Freed black people will organize a new life by creating independent black churches. These churches with various branches, will all serve as important sources of social cohesion and a shield against racial segregation. Preachers will turn these religious congregations into civil rights organizations to challenge segregation. Among these organizations led by churchmen, the SCLC among others as the watershed of the modern civil rights movement played a key role to overcome injustice and racism.

The involvement of the church in the desegregation process

Formerly churches in general, and black churches in particular, were led by white persons. The situation will change when black followers decide to step aside from white domination. The first of these churches was the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME). In the late 18 century, Richard Allen, a former slave, was an influential Deacon and elder at the integrated and affluent St George’s Methodist church in Philadelphia founded the All- black Bethel AME church in 1787. After white members of St George’s started to treat his people as second-class citizens. White members had become so uncomfortable that they relegated black worshipers to the balcony. Over time, growing numbers of African American withdrew from the Methodist Episcopal Church. Later, an offshoot of the AME church will appear under the name of African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in New York City. This group-built Zion chapel and began further separation from the AME church. 

By seeking to install black preachers and elders, they created a debate over whether black could be ministers. This debate ended in 1822 with the ordination of Abraham Thompson, Leven Smith and James Varick, The first superintendent Bishop of the AME Zion Church. The national Baptist convention was first organized in 1880 as a foreign mission Baptist in Montgomery, Alabama Its founders including Elias Camp Morris Stressed the preaching on the gospel as an answer to the shortcomings of the segregated church. According to John Franklin and Hope Staar in their book The Negro in Twentieth Century America, “Morris moved to Atlanta, in Georgia in 1895, and founded the National Baptist Convention, as the merger of the foreign mission convention, the American National Convention and the Baptist National Convention”. (Franklin & Hope, 1967:18) The National Baptist Convention is now the largest African American religious organization. In 1907, Charles Harrison Mason formed the Church of God in Christ after his Baptist church expelled him.  The headquarters of this church is mason temple in Memphis, and it is the site of Dr Martin Luther King’s final sermon; “I’ been to the mountaintop” delivered the day before he was assassinated.

Among these churches The Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church in Montgomery Alabama is very specific.  It is where Dr Martin Luther King Jr pastured from 1954 to 1960 and began his quest for civil rights. In this historical landmark, is the modest pulpit where reverend Martin Luther King Jr first preached his message of hope and brotherhood. This church was also a central point of the Montgomery bus boycott. A Large Mural in the Church depicts King’s civil rights crusade from Montgomery to Memphis. The Dexter King Memorial Baptist Church was founded in 1877 in Slave trader’s Pen, located on Dexter Avenue, formerly Market Street. A small wood frame building located inside, was used as a place for worship. In 1976 Montgomery added the church to its list of historic sites. The church’s first name Second Colored Baptist was later changed to Dexter Avenue Baptist church when Market Street became Dexter Avenue in honor of Andrew Dexter founder of the city in 1978. The name was changed to Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, in memory of its twentieth pastor Dr Martin Luther King Jr. who had the idea of involving the churches in the fight for black people s’ rights.

Togetherness and commitment of religious organizations

The birth of most of the more influential civil rights organizations was to be led by Churchmen or persons having some religious belongings. The SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference) of Dr Martin Luther King and affiliated movements, as the name suggests intended to draw its strength from leaders of the black church in the South. By the same token, in 1966 a group of 51 black pastors calling themselves The National Committee of negro churchmen, (NCNC) bought a full page in New York Times to publish there “Black power statement”, which proposed a more aggressive approach to fight against racism, using the Bible for inspiration. Formally the SCLC was composed of affiliated churches and some community organization such as the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), and Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights, rather than individual members. 

The Afro-Americans’ fight was then deeply linked to religious places. All the decisions which have contributed in re-shaping the black people’s conditions had been taken in churches. The SCLC which was the most influential owed his position through the fame of its well-known leaders Dr King and Ralph David Albernathy, but also the number of affiliated organizations engaged in the nonviolent direct-action program across the South. The movement originated from Montgomery Bus Boycott, after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give her bus seat to a white man. When serving as a pastor, King was known as the head of the MIA, the leading organization of this successful Montgomery Bus Boycott. This event led to the foundation of the SCLC in 1957, which gathered many victories in the fight.

American civil rights movement, along with other organizations like the National Association for the Advanced of Colored People (NAACP), the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the Congress for Racial Equality (CORE) to name a few. Over time, some of these organizations moved away from nonviolence or, took different strategies, but this did not prevent them from pursuing their common objective which was the black people’s liberation and equality. In 1951 and 1962, SCLC joined the SNCC in the Albany movement, a broad protest against segregation in Albany, Georgia and was generally considered as the organization first nonviolent campaign. On July 2nd 1963, the leaders of these different organizations met for a massive demonstration in Washington DC to protest for new civil rights legislation to outlaw segregation. This has resorted to a huge success with no violence and a high number of participants. The peak of march was Dr King’s famous “I have a Dream” [9], in which he stresses on hopes and aspirations of the civil rights movement.

The African Americans fight for civil rights has been a long and tedious way. One may think about the situation as a kind of Boomerang effect. Enslaved and belittled under the name of religion, they will use this very religion to untie the bonds of slavery and injustice. 
With the favor of free religious exercise, which was the basis of the American founding fathers, Black people after emancipation will establish separate church facilities. They will also set up congregations to create their own culturally distinct ways. Within the black churches, they will build strong community organizations and hold positions of spiritual and political leadership. It is in this context that Black people got together around some religious organizations to demand fair treatments and the end of discrimination. 

Most of the greatest victories, either the adoption of Civil Rights Act in 1964, or the Voting Rights Act in 1965, had been the result of these organizations’ pressure on the federal government. But if religion must be left to the conviction and conscience of every man as the Bill of religion stated centuries ago, and that government should not be mingled with religious practice, the fact remains that there is a problem of how to reconcile the government keeping totally neutral in religious matters, with the strong role religion has played in American civil rights movement.  Despite these victories in the 20th century, Black people ‘s precarious situation is still under fierce debate in the United States. The movement “Black Lives Matter” created in 2013 to fight against police violence a systemic racism is the telling example.

1. Carl Anderson. "Religion et politique dans l'esprit américain”. Giovedì, Année I, no. 2, September 2005.

2. Melvin Urofsky. Right of people: Individual freedom and the Bill of Rights. New York: Washington Ed., 2003.

3. Jean Bertrand Claude. "Le premier amendement: Un mythe." Transatlantica Revues, no. 27, 2003.

4. Petre O. Grenouilleau. Les traites négrières. Paris: Gallimard Folio Histoire, 2004.

5. Bruno Chenu. Le grand livre des negro-spirituals. Paris: Bayard, 2000.

6. George Santayana. “Dominations and powers: Reflections on liberty, society and government”. New York: Vintage Books, 1951.

7. Michael Battle. "Le génie de l’Église noire." Libres enfin: Le mouvement des, New York: New American Century, 2009.

8. Alden Morris. The origins of the civil rights movement. New York: Free Press, 1984.

9. Martin Luther King Jr. "I have a dream." Delivered August 28, 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C., during the March on Washington for civil rights.