The most basic duty of a citizen is to uphold the law. But what do citizens do if the law is morally corrupt? From the anti-Semitic laws of Nazi Germany to the racial discrimination laws of the United States in the twentieth century, many countries have had laws that its citizens felt were immoral. That is where the concept of peaceful resistance or ‘Civil Disobedience’ comes in. Civil Disobedience is defined by Cambridge dictionary as “the refusal of citizens to obey certain laws or pay taxes as a peaceful way to express disapproval of those laws or taxes. ” This idea of peaceful resistance has positively impacted society in many instances.

Peaceful resistance takes courage. An individual who decides to peacefully resist a law is often putting …show more content…
Bonhoeffer is not always viewed as a peaceful protestor because of his involvement in a plot to assassinate Hitler. Yet for most of his life, peaceful resistance was Bonhoeffer’s regular practice. He once arranged to meet with Mahatma Gandhi, the famous non-violent activist of India, but was unable to because of events in Germany. In 1933, when the Nazis took control of the country, Bonhoeffer was one of the few pastors who spoke openly against the government. He also refused Nazi demands to cease his work. He became a prominent voice in the “Confessing Church,” which was formed in opposition to the national church that had sworn allegiance to the Nazi party. Bonhoeffer further broke the law by leading an underground seminary for anti-Nazi church members. Bonhoeffer’s civil disobedience was a bit different than that of African Americans like Claudette Colvin and Rosa Parks. The African Americans’ Civil Disobedience was that of a people publicly protesting against the injustice of their circumstances. Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s peaceful resistance was not as public. He needed to follow his conscience to speak the truth and not let evil take over the church. His goal was not to get caught, but to courageously do right and lead the way for others to do the