MLK's Forgotten Lesson: Religious Pluralism Unites Us

Martin Luther King Jr. didn't just dream of racial equality. He envisioned a "Beloved Community" where people of all faiths worked together, acknowledged their differences, and fought side by side for justice.

King's worldview came from the Black Church, where stories of freedom and liberation shaped generations. But he expanded far beyond those roots, drawing inspiration from Hindu leader Mahatma Gandhi's nonviolent protests, Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings, and Greek philosophy.

His mentor Howard Thurman traveled to India to meet Gandhi and founded the Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples. Another influence, Mordecai Johnson, returned from India in 1949 with Gandhi's message of nonviolence that would transform King's entire approach.

The power of King's pluralist vision came alive during the 1965 March on Selma. After police brutally beat marchers on Bloody Sunday, people of every faith answered the call. Catholic priests and nuns marched alongside Episcopal seminarians and Unitarian Universalists like James Reeb, who was murdered days later. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel walked in solidarity, embodying the interfaith coalition King believed essential for change.

King saw connections everywhere. He identified with Indian Dalits facing caste discrimination, declaring "I am an untouchable." He linked the African American freedom struggle with labor unions fighting for farmworkers' rights. "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," he insisted.

When Alabama Governor George Wallace opposed the Supreme Court's ban on school-sponsored prayer, King defended the decision. "In a pluralistic society such as ours, who is to determine what prayer shall be spoken, and by whom?" he asked in 1965.

The Ripple Effect

King's pluralist approach created ripples that continue today. His vision recognized that real change requires people of different backgrounds finding common ground. He praised the Supreme Court's protection of religious diversity in schools and wrote that discussing Christianity without mentioning other religions would be like describing the Atlantic Ocean without acknowledging the tributaries that feed it.

He wanted people to embody the highest ideals of their own faith traditions. Religion at its best promotes peace, understanding, love, and goodwill across "all of the great religions of the world," he wrote.

At a sermon previewing his own funeral wishes, King kept it simple. "I'd like for somebody to say that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to love somebody," he said. "I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity."

King's dream of a world without hunger, war, and racism remains unfinished, but his pluralist vision offers a roadmap for today's challenges.