MLK's Institution

Reminding atheists that sometimes

Christianity is good.

tl;dr We atheists should be able to acknowledge that churches empowered King’s campaigns even if we don’t believe in King’s God.

Here in the States, the third Monday of January is Martin Luther King Day. He’s the only individual to get his own federal holiday. Since King was a great man and a Christian, his day seems like a good opportunity for us atheists to appreciate the good that religion can do in the secular world. Some atheists are quick to point out that King’s values aren’t exclusive to Christianity, and that’s true. The implication, however, is that in an alternate reality there may be a secular King who was just as successful in promoting civil rights as our Christian King was. That scenario seems unlikely. Since even atheists admire King, his career is a useful opportunity for us to see what’s good about Christianity and about religion in general. In particular, King’s career demonstrates the value of religious institutions. Atheists often define religion as a belief or maybe a belief system, but first and foremost religion is a social institution. Maybe it’s our individualism or our rationalism, but we atheists commonly underestimate the value and power of institutions. King’s life can help us see the good that institutions can do, even when they’re religious.

The Black Church

On a number of levels, King couldn’t have done what he did if he hadn’t been a minister. As a black man, his opportunities for leadership were limited. The black church, however, allowed him to pursue a career of learning, communication, inspiration and leadership. In some theoretical world, perhaps a gifted black man could have led an equivalent career as part of a secular institution, one devoted to community and justice. But in our actual world, the black church offered this opportunity to King and no other institution did.

The black church connected King to black leaders across the country. It gave him churches to speak at, congregations to speak to, and an organization through which to spread ideas and recruit allies. His status as a minister gave him clout that helped him lead his campaign. Churches aren’t beliefs. They imply buildings, meeting rooms, newsletters, organizational structures, connections to people in the community, and congregations that are willing to gather and hear someone inspire them to action. Apart from any sort of belief, churches are social institutions that bring people together, and those institutions made King’s career possible.

The Christian Church

As a Christian minister, King had a connection to Christian clergy and laypeople across the world. For the most part, this connection was theoretical, but King made it practical. As a minister, he called on clergy from across the country to join him in Selma. After “Bloody Sunday,” hundreds of white clergy answered his call and joined him on short notice. It’s true that people of any belief could have joined him and did, but the institution of the Christian church provided an impressive, rapid influx of white allies, each of whom was connected to a congregation back home. When a white congregation saw its minister fly to Selma, that must have had a big emotional impact. Emotional impacts are irrational, so atheists are sometimes uncomfortable with them, but emotions are usually how things get done in this world. 

Maybe if there were an international secular institution that went back 2000 years, and if it had a cadre of educated, professional community leaders on hand to join a civil rights campaign, then maybe a secular version of King could have called on the leaders of that institution. In real life, that institution was the Christian church. 

Perhaps the most famous white minister to answer King’s call was James Reeb. He’s famous because he was beaten to death. It’s sad to say, but the death of a white minister from Boston shocked the nation the way that deaths of black activists had not. Reeb’s martyrdom was not in vain. It advanced the cause of civil rights. Reeb didn’t just happen to be a minister. He was there in Selma because he was a minister and because King was one.

On a less dramatic level, King’s identity as a Christian minister allowed him to reach the hearts of many white Christian laypeople. His civil disobedience was predicated on God’s justice trumping human law. When people called him an extremist, he called out Jesus as an example of an “extremist.” White clergy and lay people across the country picked up his call for racial justice and campaigned for civil rights in their hometowns. Like King, they used the infrastructure supplied by the church to gather crowds, inspire congregations, and spread the word. 

Christian Faith

Atheists assure me that if King had been an atheist, he still could have lived a life with just as much courage, determination, hope, and love. Maybe they are right. King believed that no matter what his enemies did to his body, his soul was safe with Christ, but maybe that didn’t make any real difference to him. He believed that his campaign emulated the life of Christ, but I suppose even an atheist can aspire to emulate a hero like Jesus. King led a heroic career, explicitly in the name of Jesus, but I sure can’t prove for certain that a godless King couldn’t have braved everything the actual King braved and more. Still, if an atheist is certain that King’s faith didn’t contribute to his heroism, the point of this post is that it's institutions that get work done, not ideas. 

Bad Christian Institutions

Some atheists get uncomfortable when they hear religion being praised, and they want to jump in and point out its flaws. That’s natural. It is true that religious institutions were operating on the opposite side of the civil rights movement. Southern Baptists had church buildings to meet in and copy machines for their racist fliers, too. That’s all true. The point here is not that religion is always good but that religion is powerful, and that its power stems from its institutions. We are well aware that these institutions can be used for evil purposes, and in all fairness we atheists ought to acknowledge that they can also be used for good purposes. King’s holiday is a fine time for us to reflect on that.

Secular Assessment

If religious people are going to get over the tribal thinking that sets them against each other and against us, maybe we secular people need to show them the way. It’s natural for us atheists to downplay the degree to which Christianity contributed to King’s accomplishments, but maybe we would do well to rise above our tribal nature. Reflecting on King’s life is a good opportunity for us atheists to do just that.