Final answer:
Martin Luther King Jr. criticized white moderates for their preference for 'order' over justice and their reluctance to support civil rights tactics. He also criticized the church for not being a stronger ally in the fight for civil rights and for their failure to treat integration as a moral imperative.
Step-by-step explanation:
Criticisms by King Against White Moderates and the Church
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. raised criticisms against white moderates for being more devoted to "order" than to justice, preferring a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice. He expressed disappointment in the white moderate's reluctance to engage with the civil rights movement's more direct and nonviolent tactics, like sit-ins and marches. King argued that this stance often placed white moderates in a position of opposition to the movement's goals.
Regarding the criticism of the church, King was disheartened that the church was not the strong ally he had hoped for, instead often standing aside from the struggle for civil rights. He longed to hear white ministers advocate for integration not just because it was the law, but because it was morally right and aligned with the Gospel's teachings regarding brotherhood and justice. He criticized churches for muting their influence by treating social injustices as issues beyond their religious concern, thus maintaining a safe, but irrelevant, position regarding the pressing issues of racial injustice.