Chapter 9 Summary

In the past, social activism was usually derived from the work of inspired believers. These believers had ideas and actions that were motivated and executed by their faith. All throughout Chapter Nine, Dr. Bhattacharyya, analyzes three examples of religiously motivated social activists. These three activists consist of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Vinoba Bhave; and Malcolm X. As discussed in the reading Bhattacharya makes a reference to the power of religion as a motivator for making an abundance of positive changes throughout the word globally. Bhattacharya invites the readers to reflect on how religion influences social, cultural and political actions
According to Freud, Marx and others philosophers, they believed that religion is “the opium
of the people”. We discussed this phrase in class. “The opium of the people” this term in my perspective means a temporary high that the people hang on to or get addicted to. It is an illusion and a false hope for them to look forward to instead of handling their personal problems by making actions themselves. The opium of the people is the privileged ignoring the needs of the poor and both to refrain the fight for justice. However, a former archbishop of the Anglican Church of South Africa, named Desmond Tutu believed all people regardless of the hue of their skin are children of God and equal. He believed that religion is a motivating force for active resistance and social involvement. With that being stated, oppressive structures such as apartheid must be challenged and corrected.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, GA in 1929. Dr. King grew up in a well rounded home. He had a loving, stable, financially secure and a deeply religious family of educated ministers.

[1] As quoted in Daniel L. Pals, Seven Theories of Religion (Oxford: Oxford University Press 1996),141; quoted from Karl Marx, “Contribution to the critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right: Introduction”, in Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels on Religion (New York: Schocken Books, 1964),41.

Dr. King began to see Jesus’s teaching of love as the basis for action. Dr. King convinced his crowd base of followers that supported him that the most powerful weapon for the oppressed against social injustice is nonviolent resistance. The ability to not cooperate and display passive resistance was needed in order for humanity to live together as brothers and sisters in peace. He was a very peaceful man who didn’t really care too much for violence. In Dr. King’s perspective, nonviolence is just Christianity in action. It is a way of life and not a technique to fight social injustice. Love is the main focus of teaching on Christianity and justice is inseparable from it. In one of his last speeches Dr. King described the benefits of nonviolent resistance: “The aftermath of nonviolence is the creation of the beloved community. The aftermath of nonviolence is redemption. The aftermath of nonviolence is reconciliation. The aftermath of violence is emptiness and bitterness”.

[1] Martin Luther King Jr., “The Birth of a Nation”, in A Call to Conscience, 32.

Another activist with the name of Malcolm X, was born into a not so stable family household compared to the home Dr.King came from. X’s family hit rock bottom after the death of his father who was murdered. His mother was put in a mental institution causing him and his siblings to be split amongst different foster families and orphanages. A young brown boy with no parental support and previous traumas turned him to be misguided. He entered into a world of lowlifes. This world

include gambling, doing drugs, drinking, womanizing and violence.
His poor decisions led him to be convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison. As he spent time in prison he gained some wisdom, through the guidance of Elijah Muhammad. He began to follow the practices and beliefs of the Nation of Islam. He had self reflections on his past life and the teachings of Elijah Muhammad. The teachings began to make sense to him. He compared the teachings to eras of his life like during the time period where a Caucasian person had been a “devil”; it was this devil that ruined his home, killed his father any maybe even led to him being in prison. After being freed from prison he devoted his life to Muhammad. X believed Muhammed saved his life. He traveled the country giving public preachings, and opening NOI temples. He seeked for people of color to come out from under the burden of oppression and build on their own, and to separate them from white Christian oppressors. Many people assume the wrong thought when thinking of Malcolm X. They assume he was an ignorant, radical terrorist of violence towards caucasians. In some of Malcolm’s speeches he told African Americans to not accept discrimination using all means necessary, including violence. He ended his meetings saying: “Do nothing unto anyone that you would not like to have done unto yourself. Seek peace and never be the aggressor- but if anyone attacks you, we do not teach you to turn the other cheek”. X wasn’t like how King
was totally against violence, but he also didn’t believe in putting up with it if it was targeted. His preaching was similar to the phrase of “An eye for an eye”.
A powerful change in Malcolm’s life is evident due to the religious teachings of Muhammed. His dedication to Elijah Muhammad thoroughly transformed his previous life

and how he influenced the world. He mentioned during his pilgrimage to Mecca that he experienced a spirit of unity and brotherhood that his previous experiences in America had led him to believe never could exist between whites and colored people. He now believed a white person could now be his brother or sister, not the devil.
[1] Malcolm X, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, as told to Alex Haley (New York: Ballantine Books, 1965), 246.

Lastly, Vinoba Bhave was a follower, and spiritual healer similar to Gandhi.
He considered himself not being a member of any institution or having nothing to do with political parties. His followers were drawn to him because he was authentic and compassionate. Gandhi’s teachings of nonviolence influenced him. He learned from him that the basis of nonviolence was fearlessness. Nonviolence is having compassion for others and living truthfully in Vinoba’s perspective. Vinoba’s ability to embrace multiple traditions, his commitment with nonviolence and his work rooted in compassion all fall within Hindu religious
traditions.
In conclusion the motivating power of religion in the lives of these 3 activists displays the motives and powers of religion. They preached about and acted on the journey to attain peace and justice, and their fights against racism, injustice, discrimination and poverty developed from their commitments to religious teachings, traditions and ideologies. Religion seemed like an acceptable and cool thing to get into back in these eras of society. In today’s world, we have people such as our president that use religion to promote anger and division amongst
[1] Vinoba Bhave, Moved by Love: The Memoirs of Vinoba Bhave, trans. Marjorie Sykes from a Hindi text prepared by Kalindi (Hyderabad: Sat Sahitya Sahayogi Sangh, 1994), 17.
[1] Vinoba, Talked on the Gita, 233. people
.