Liberation Theology of Latin America - Article Example

Liberation Theology of Latin America Table of Contents Introduction 3 History of Liberation Theology 3 Personalities within the Liberation Theology Movement 4 Tenets of Liberation Theology 6 Impact of Liberation Theology in Latin America 8 Conclusion 10 Bibliography: 11 Introduction Liberation theology is the form of religion that has its origins in Latin America. This is the use of religion to preach against the unjustness in life from unjust economic conditions to poverty or even political repression.1 Since this is a means of speaking up against the establishment, it has had deadly consequences on its proponents. In fact, many of them brutally killed in order to silence them.2 This article seeks to examine the origin, proponents, teachings and impact of liberation theology. While this theology is quite wide spread, the focus of this article will be in Latin America. History of Liberation Theology As seen above, the religion traces its origins to Latin America. This can be traced as far back into the sixteenth century where bishops within several Latin American states voiced their opposition to the repressive colonial rule. This has been touted as the forbearer to the later rise of liberal theology. It is imperative point out that since the days of both Spanish and Portuguese conquest in the Latin American territory, the state and the church were the same.3 They needed each other in order to legitimize each other. With time and with the coming of independence, the Catholic Church slowly lost her position of power. This, therefore, led the church into a position of conservative and diminishing economic influence. As a result, the church had to look for other means of regaining her lost position. At this point, there was the rise of new Christendom strategy. This did not really work, and, as a result, people started questioning the position of the church. A lot of people were easily drawn into secular movements like the Marxist movement, African-derived spiritualist cults and even newly formed socialist movements. Personalities within the Liberation Theology Movement There are those people who would easily be considered the fathers of liberation theology. One of these people would be Gustavo Gutiérrez. This was an influential figure in the liberation theology circles. He was of the opinion that the Christian should be judged by his/her religious convictions.4 The theology was also aiming to reconsider the radically changing perspectives within this theology. There is also the importance of looking at the questions posed by the commitment. This discontent was not only outside the church, but also within the position and file of the church. Here, priests and various followers began to express their dissatisfaction. The notable name at this time was Hélder Camera. He was of the opinion that there should be conscientization of the poor. At the same time, he denounced poverty and the violence of capitalism acts that seemed to indicate a leaning towards socialism.5 This was furthered by his actions of gathering a number of bishops from the Catholic Church from Asia, Latin America and even from Africa. These individuals collectively wrote an article titled ‘A Message to the People of the Third World’. The message within this document was that the people within the third world are the proletariat of the rest of the world.6 This was an underlining of the status that the third world occupies in the order of things in comparison to the developed world. This was a revolutionary call to the people of the third world to rise up against the oppressive status of things. He was also of the opinion that there should be equitable sharing of the wealth, since those with it were using it to dehumanize the poor masses. He stressed out that the bible was the basis and the origin of the radical revolution that should set things in the proper order. Another more radical revolutionary at this point was Camilo Torres. This priest from Colombia was of the opinion that there was a need for a revolution. He organized United Front whose aim was to gather people of all social statuses especially of the poor members of the lower classes who would then play a central role in bringing social change.7 Persuaded that hostility was the only way to gain the change needed, he quit priesthood to guerilla Army of National Liberation.8 The works of this priest saw him raised to the position of a martyr after his death in an ambush. He was of the opinion that ‘the duty of every catholic is to be a revolutionary, and the duty of every revolutionary is to make the revolution’. The end result was a springing up of hundreds of ‘Camilista groups’ all over Latin America. As a result of this, there were debates among the Christian fraternity that questioned reformist strategies while there was justification of violent revolutions. The changes that people sought were not going to come easy. People would have to fight to get them. It is crucial to assert that, it was not only the Catholics who were revolutionary and advocating for liberation theology. It was also found among the Protestants. One of these Protestants was a Presbyterian missionary called Richard Shaull. Shaull was developing a ‘theology of revolution’. This was informed by the conviction by Shaull and his followers that the moderate revolution was not working for Latin America. They, therefore, called for a radical social structural transformation, which did not have to be violent.9 The need for the changes and the call for them is what indicate the role of the church in liberation theology. Also within liberation theology is a movement, which though seeming populist in outlook, it is very much within the fold. This theology is called the theology of the people. According to a number of scholars within Latin America like E. Jorda, the distinguishing aspect of theology of the people is it’s cultural out look. This is in contrast to liberation theology, which has a sociopolitical outlook. The theology has won the support of non other than Gustavo Gutiérrez who describes it as an authentic current of liberation theology differentiated by its national roots.10 This, therefore, underlies the dynamic nature of liberation theology. This form of theology has been advanced by Juan Carlos Scannone is informed mainly by the political experiences of the Latin American region.11 According to Gustavo, this has led to the formation of a form of theology called the ‘theology of popular pastoral ministry’.12 Though he does not fully agree with the works of Scannone in terms of the outcomes that Scannone posits, Gustavo asserts that this type of theology has reinvigorated the theology of liberation. This is an affirmation that liberation theology has a way of refreshing itself in order to bring about further ideals that it has been fighting for. Tenets of Liberation Theology The teaching of liberation theology is the establishment of the ideal ‘Kingdom of God’ on earth. This means that it aims at eliminating human oppression of all kinds. This includes any social, economic ethnic and religious structures perceived to do more harm than good to humanity. This means that the movement, which continues to be influential even today, has taken it upon itself to fight all social evils. There is a big difference between traditional theology and liberation theology. The difference lies in the interpretation of theology. Traditional theology starts from the point of view of dogma this is the ‘proper’ interpretation of the bible and the stand of the church in terms of traditions.13 This is, however, not the point of view of the liberation theology. In the case of liberation theology, the starting point is the suffering humanity. This means that the theology has as its basis poverty in society. This resonates well with personalities like Hélder Camera whose views saw them as socialist leaning.14 The contention appears to be the fact that traditional theology appears to support the maintenance of status quo. However the status quo has been synonymous with human suffering. A lot of the time the poor church goers contribute what they can, which ends up getting into the pockets of a few dishonest individuals.15 Aside from poverty, religion has played a key role in maintaining the dormancy of the masses and keeping them from questioning the unjustness of their living conditions. Looking into the issue of poverty, the church was of the opinion that the kind of attention that human misery was getting did not auger well with the status quo. It is for this reason that the church leadership tried in vain to divert attention from poverty to other matters. The reality was just too clear. The aim of the proponents of liberation theology was that eventually the poor would be involved fully in the changes that were being sought. In short the poor had to play the central role in the theology of liberation. Today the theology is still alive and still tackling issues that still plague man and bring about human suffering. Currently the issues that are highly touched by this theology are those of race, gender, popular religion and more recently environment. The movement has also spread into other facets of human life in the secular world. Currently the theology has been accepted even in the first world where it has been applied. It has also influenced the popular education that seeks to result in to social change. Simultaneously, the movement’s tenets were assimilated into some parts of the Catholic Church almost surreptitiously.16 As stated earlier, the liberation theology was begun by people within Latin America and the Caribbean who were struggling for justice in solidarity with the poor. These people raised fundamental questions and looked to new ways of looking at their faith. Through religion, the plight of the poor was relooked at with a new set of views. This theology has intimately bound life in the grassroots Christianity with evangelism of the church.17 It is consequently unfeasible to look at one without the other.18 Impact of Liberation Theology in Latin America There are those who may look and proclaim the demise of liberation theology. This may be driven by the conviction that the theology was snuffed out by the powers that be and that their ideologies are no longer compatible with the current situation. However, the theology has gained a lot of what it set out to gain. First of all, there has been recognition of the poor as a ‘clear and legitimate Christian option the world over. This means that the poor have been given more prominence. The approach of liberation theology sought to understand the life of Jesus through the suffering poor. The poor were able to prove to the world the brutality of poverty that a majority of them live. For a long time, these poor people in society were looked at as non entities.19 They were not visible in society or in the church and their plight went largely unheard. One of the benefits of liberation theology is the empowerment of these poor members of society to a point where they can express their plight and be heard. There was also the increased awareness of individual rights and those of indigenous old people.20 Another impact of the liberation theology is the increased push for distributive justice. This basically means the push for the just and equitable allocation of the existing resources among a population who are dominated by poverty. This is a critical aspect of the push towards recognition of the inherent rights that are with the poor. At the same time, liberation theology has also brought to the surface the rights of the people in the highly police states through out Latin America. In addition, the liberation theology has brought about violent revolutions in different countries. The case of Camilo Torres in Colombia rings a bell.21 This was the priest who opted to go and join the rebel movement that in his opinion would bring about the change he desired. At the same time there was a resurgence of indigenous movements throughout Latin America thanks to liberation theology. A lot of the indigenous communities were able to come together and form political parties that were fighting for their rights and recognition at the national level. It is because of liberation theology that saw the religious leaders speak out against oppressive regimes. This indicates the level of social-political change that was enhanced by the religious leaders in Latin America. The courage to do so and the fact that a lot has changed around Latin America is an indication of the influence of liberation theology.22 The proponents of the theology may not all be alive at the moment, but their ideologies have outlived them in the majority of Latin America. Conclusion Liberation theology has no doubt been very instrumental in ensuring that the word of God resonates with the masses. Being a region that is plagued by poverty, religion within Latin America took up this cue to create awareness among the people and the international community. It went as far as empowering the poor masses through giving them a voice to speak and a vehicle through which to articulate their problems. There were those who attempted to discredit this theology through linking it to Marxism. Looking to the future, there are more issues that the liberation theology still helps solve such as feminism and the environment. Bibliography: Sigmund, Paul E., Liberation Theology at the Crossroads. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990. Bahmann, Manfred. A preference for the poor: Latin American liberation theology from a Protestant perspective. Lanham, Md. [u.a.]: Univ. Press of America, 2005. Brown, Robert. Liberation theology: an introductory guide. Louisville, Ky.: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1993. Smith, Christian. The emergence of liberation theology: radical religion and social movement theory. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991. Turner, David. An introduction to liberation theology. Lanham (Md.); New York; London: University press of America, cop. 1994. Gill, Antholy, “The Study of Liberation Theology.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. Vol. 41, No. 1 (March 2002). Erickson, Millard J. Christian Theology. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1998. Elwell, Walter A. and Barry J. Beitzel. Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1988. Linden, Ian. Liberation Theology: Coming of Age? Massachusetts: CIIR. 2000. Berryman, Philip. Liberation Theology. New York: Temple University Press. 1987. Read More