We are familiar with Martin Luther King’s important work in the
civil rights movement, and the tremendous role that some
churches played in the fight for social justice. However, there
were great humanists and humanistic ideals that preceded King
and the movement. King is best known for using passive
resistance to fight for freedom, justice and equality. However,
in the 19th century, Henry David Thoreau wrote his famous essay
“On the Duty of Civil Disobedience.” His theory became
influential after his death, largely because it is completely
secular. Thoreau’s earliest protest was lodged over a
church/state separation issue. He was a schoolmaster in 1838,
and the state of Massachusetts required him to pay a tax to a
church he did not even attend. He refused to pay the tax, though
another man paid it without his knowledge or approval. Thoreau
did not attend church and associated primarily with unchurched
individuals. He believed that people have the right to disobey
unjust laws, and that they were required to f