Religion and Authority in Spike Lee’s Malcolm X
Spike Lee’s Malcolm X is a landmark film that chronicles not only the evolution of a key
civil rights leader in United States history, but also goes through the very dynamics of religious
authority grounded in particular oppressed communities. This paper will argue that Malcolm X
uses religious speech and institutional authority which are key themes of Craig Martin’s work to
both legitimise the Nation of Islam’s opposition to dominant racial structures, and to build a
shared identity among African Americans. In concentrating on Martin’s examinations of
religion and authority, this essay will illustrate how the film portrays religious institutions as
vehicles for the projection of legitimacy, lending moral weight to competing claims, and
ultimately the recreation of social order in a subordinated community.
Martin places at the heart of one of his texts the notion that religious authority is not
something possessed by sacred texts or ritual practices but rather produced through a relationship
between these symbols and the communities that acknowledge them as authoritative. He argues
that the text, rituals, and figures are imbued with power only at such time as they are actively
ratified by a group, thus portraying authority as both a social and historical construct (Martin
2023, 104). In Malcolm X, the Nation of Islam is seen not just as a religious body but as a
transformative agency that give spirit and integrity to its followers. The film then traces how the
Nation's religious proclamations are endowed with authority deriving from both the sacred texts
and the charismatic leadership that interprets them.
One of the film's most interesting aspects is how it explicates the way in which religious
authority is projected onto absent figures and texts, a major concern of Martin's work. Martin
states that an interesting phenomenon in the lives of religious practitioners today is that they
associate ancient teachings and figures with contemporary relevance. Another way to say this is
that practitioners use these teachings or figures as projections of their own values and
assumptions (Martin 2023, 121). In the film Malcolm X, much of this projection could be
considered derived from the Nation of Islam's doctrines which are used to clarify moral clarity in
an unjust society. As if to narrate the pattern Malcolm made from moving into a life of crime to
coming out as a disciplined advocate of black empowerment, the values that were internalized
were the projects that nurtured this transformation internally. The film shows that, unlike
objective affirmations of truth, the sacred texts of the Nation are viewed and established by the
followers as those that flaunt their own struggles and hopes.
Martin declares that authority, in keeping with his definition of it, depends much on ritual
and public affirmations. Rituals and public pronouncements in Malcolm X bear witness to the
authority of the Nation of Islam. For example, communal prayers and rallies depicted in the film
transcend the bounds of worship to become calculated performances of transferring moral
authority from an abstract divine source to political movement in a concrete sense. In this regard,
the ritual connects to Martin's claim that "a text or ritual gains its authority only when it is
embedded in the lived experiences and collective memories of a community" (Martin 2023, 104).
Malcolm, in his speeches, invoked language of divine sanctioning and moral duty to validate the
resistance of the community to racial oppression and elevate the Nation of Islam as the safeguard
for black dignity.
It has the capacity for displaying religious authority and yet understanding the inherent
potential conflict within the process of legitimation. Martin observes that religious authority can
indeed act as a powerful weapon in rallies and social resistance, yet, by its very nature, it
contributes to the production of hierarchies in a community. Malcolm X places the authority of
the Nation of Islam in a double-edged position. On the one hand, its authoritative remarks
empower people like Malcolm to resist injustices systemically but on the other hand, the tightly
controlled internal order instituted by the organization establishes a sharp insider-outsider
boundary. This duality is critical in understanding how the religious authority liberates and at
times consolidates. As Martin notes, the very effectiveness of an authority structure is that it also
sets out insiders from outsiders in this important area (Martin 2023, 121–122). This dynamic can
also be observed in the movie through the tension between Malcolm's revolutionary passion and
the more organized, ritualized expressions of institutional authority within the Nation.
Additionally, the film explores the transformative power of religious authority. Malcolm's
form of change is not purely individual; it may also stand for a broader transition in the
construction of authority in times of crisis. Internalizing the teachings of the Nation of Islam,
Malcolm refashioned his identity and redirected his aim, confirming Martin's point that the inner
adoption or rejection of an idea by its followers becomes the greatest source of power for that
authority(Martin 2023, 121-122). This process of internalization is symbolized through potent
visual and narrative motifs in the film, from Malcolm's choice of clothing to the fire in his public
speeches. Such moments testify to how religious authority unites a community and creates a
coherent counter-narrative to oppressive structures when popularized.
In conclusion, Spike Lee’s Malcolm X explored deeply on the movement of God from
the individual to the collective, contemplating how this authority is enacted in the lives of the
oppressed. Using Craig Martin’s theories on religion and authority, the film demonstrates that
legitimacy is not something built in to the sacred text or liturgy, but is generated by a community
through its engagement with and internalization of these symbols. The Nation of Islam’s ability
to project authority onto its teachings and then ritualize and contest that authority on-screen is
representative of the complex interrelationship between religion, power, and identity. Ultimately,
Malcolm X shows that religious authority isn’t fixed or one-dimensional but is a flexible power
that helps shape society by supporting different ideas of justice and community.
Work cited
Martin, Craig. How Religion Works: Authority, Classification, and Structure. 2023.
Spike Lee. Malcolm X. New York: Warner Bros., 1992. Film.