I haven't observed any demeaning attitude toward any actual leaders, religious or not. However; fakes, hypocrites, charlatans, and others who contribute nothing to society are treated with derision.

I ignore the religious aspects of his life. In his highly public life it is mostly about Civil Rights that os remembered and important. It also should be noted that he was a pacificts which led to his murder.

He was a prominent Civil Rights leader offered up by the government and many followed him because of his teaching of non violence, has nothing to Do with his religious affiliation. I’m sure someone brought this up already but I didn’t read the comments.

MLK fought for liberty; fought for liberty where denied, primarily because of race. His fight denied no one else any rights or civil liberties.
The Catholic bishops believe if Catholic girls exercise their reproductive rights they will go to Hell. When they try to use an authoritative government to deny that liberty to non-Catholic girls they are denying rights and civil liberties. Most believe life begins at birth, not at the creation of a new zygote.
The Mormons send all of their gay-guys to their version of hell; fine with me, but don't try to criminalize it for the rest of us. We believe that when the Constitution says, "All Citizens" are guaranteed "equal access to the Law" it means the gay-guys have a right to have a legal marriage. Not in the Mormon Church, but a liberal church that allows it.
Recent poll says that only 68% of Americans now self-identify with a Christian religion.
The opposite of liberty is religion. MLK promoted liberty. Religious leaders promote suppression of liberty.

And that is why.

I know I might be in the minority but I'm not a fan of MLK. MLK was not as insightful as people may imagine. He took bible phrases and paraphrased them to seem intelligent. I don't know whether he was a nice guy or not. I'm not dumb enough to fall for the historical BS I've been fed all my life. To me the real heroes are the ones who died because they stood their ground and not a single person remembers them or even know they exist. MLK is revered because the ends justify the means. MLK is a modern day black preacher. I don't hate the guy. I just believe that MLK was chosen to be a spokesperson for blacks because he is the only one who "happened" to survive. Most blacks should be embarrassed to the extent that they revere him but could care less about repeating his values. I don't know. I guess I don't trust history.

MLK use of religion is the same ole gimmick that con artists have used since time immemorial. However, who can argue against human rights.

MLK Jr. was intelligent and insightful. He was also determined and courageous. He gave his life for a good cause.

Martin Luther King should not be exempted. While he can be lionized for his civil rights work, the truth is that he was a very flawed human being. The FBI had tapes of him having affairs with numerous women and tried to use those tapes and evidence to get him to commit suicide rather than be exposed. However, he would not do it despite the threats. There were reports that he was the reason Ingar Stevens committed suicide. The reason I demean "religious leaders" is that unlike scientists who try to find things out, they just make shit up.

I have been trying to figure that out as well.

Although MLK was a religious leader, I see him as a political leader, a civil rights leader which came out of a religious society.

IF you cannot even define what you are talking about, or consider it beyond human understanding, how is it you can claim to know anything about it and keep your intellectual integrity intact?

There are not religious leaders in that sense, it is a religious asserter whose assertions go unchallenged, who gains a following of the indoctrinated.

That is not a leader in my view, its an opportunist exploiting the indoctrinated or an indoctrinated victim indoctrinating others as they were indoctrinated to do.

in·doc·tri·nate
verb

1. teach (a person or group) to accept a set of beliefs uncritically:

Thusly the uncritical lead the uncritical right off the cliff . . .

Well... look at it from the other side... regardless of status as a religious leader, can you really come out as anti-MLK? That's like being anti-AbeLincoln. The meaning people associate with his legacy is not as a religious leader.

The problem I have with his religions convictions is that's it's the same religion that was used to justify enslaving and oppressing the very people he was trying to help to begin with. He wasnt using some new tool or insight, he took the double edged sword of religion and used the side of it we like. Swords still there, though, driven straight through the heart of democratic debate.

Not all just the right wing conservative groups out for money and power

I heard that Mrs, MLK used to walk into quite a few doors. Just saying.

Their ‘leaders’ are intelligent enough to know better. MLK used it too, but as a civil rights organizational tool; for that, he’s apparently given the benefit of our doubt..