Abstract

In defending his conception of the Christian political witness, Stanley Hauerwas has claimed theological affinity with Martin Luther King Jr. However, despite their shared commitment to non-violence, Hauerwas's claim is unwarranted. Indeed, King 's witness reveals that Hauerwas's conceptualization of American liberalism and of the friction between Christian convictions and the American political system is in both cases overdrawn. I conclude that Hauerwas must either abandon his effort to claim Martin Luther King as a theological ally, or he must reformulate his conception of American liberalism.