John Fredrick Parker
Donor
I was wondering, is there's any evidence on how Martin Luther King would have responded, had he lived, to developments like Humanae Vitae or Roe v Wade?
MLK on Sexual Revolution?
- Thread starter John Fredrick Parker
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MLK was not exactly a conservative theologian. He ascribed to "liberation theology" but denied the deity of Christ and in his personal life did not seem to hold to traditional morality.
So, he probably would have been inline with most mainline denominations in smiling upon the sexual revolution and abortion, but in a sense of respect and restraint, but not outright condemnation typical of evangelical Christianity. MLK was not a fundie, that's for sure.
So, he probably would have been inline with most mainline denominations in smiling upon the sexual revolution and abortion, but in a sense of respect and restraint, but not outright condemnation typical of evangelical Christianity. MLK was not a fundie, that's for sure.
Ah, but private life is one thing, public ministry another. And did he really deny the divinity of Christ?
I will say that HV would be a non-starter for MLK, as it would for pretty much all Protestants even to this day. As for Roe v. Wade, IIRC most of the well known black religious leaders of the era were against it, but not vehemently so - the latter is a Catholic specialty at this time.
I will note, for the sake of completeness, that abortion, while contentious, rarely in the era you describe got a vehement reaction from most Protestants, black or white - the main opponents were the Orthodox, which are negligible in this country, and the Catholics, who, while a large minority, are still very much a minority. It would take the late 70s and early 80s to get the culture war as we know it today in full swing.
So basically, the key question is, when does he stop being involved in the public square?
TLDR: It's complicated, and also, MLK is not a Catholic.
