Liberation Theology Essay ⋆ Political Science Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

Liberation theology is a movement born in the Latin American Roman Catholic Church out of the formation of the Roman Catholic bishops’ conference, the Consejo Episcopal Latinoamericano (CELAM) in 1955, which helped the church to develop a new awareness of the problems of injustice and development across Latin America. Liberation theology received its formative manifestation with the publication in 1971 of Teologia de la liberacion (A Theology of Liberation) by the Jesuit priest Gustavo Gutierrez. This groundbreaking theological treatise built on the growing movement for openness and change spawned by the theological and political theorization in Europe following World War II (1939–1945), and by the major shifts in thinking and practice initiated in the Roman Catholic Church by the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965).

Gutierrez brought together new theological understandings of the role of the church in the world with modern developments in the social sciences to create Latin America’s first indigenous theology. The core concept of Gutierrez’ work and that of subsequent theologians such as Leonardo Boff, Juan Luis Segundo, Jon Sobrino, and Protestant theologians Rubem Alves and Jose Miguez Bonino is that Christian faith should be dedicated to fighting injustice and siding with the poor. Reflecting on the theme of liberation found in the story of the Exodus, liberation theology developed the idea that the poor and oppressed must be liberated from their condition through confrontation of the structural injustices of society, in particular those found in the underdeveloped countries of Latin America. The central tenet is that the praxis (practice) of faith in contemporary society, prophetically critiquing social injustice, should be the basis for theological reflection and, ultimately, the doctrines of faith. Liberation theologians applied a class analysis to understanding injustice, seeing structural foundations embedded in society as the root causes needing identity and radical change, including the possibility of class conflict and violence as necessary means of changing unjust social structures. This analysis borrows significantly from Marxist social and economic analysis, which places class conflict and alienation at the core of social structures and the primary cause of injustice.

The movement grew as Latin American clergy, bishops, and laity began to embrace the concept of challenging the injustices of their societies. Conferences of CELAM held in Medellin, Colombia, in 1968 and Mexico City in 1975 brought together liberation theologians, clergy, and bishops to continue development of the concepts into a more formalized set of doctrinal commitments to the poor.

Liberation theology influenced a number of political and social movements in Latin America, including the formation of Christian Base Communities, dedicated to grassroots efforts to raise literacy through bible study in poor urban and rural communities. The most significant example of a successful political movement was the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua, which overthrew the dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza in 1979, and included the leadership of Ernesto Cardenal, a priest and expositor of liberation theology. The radical transformation of Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador from establishment clergy to advocate for the poor also is credited to the influence of liberation theology (Romero was assassinated by a right paramilitary death squad while celebrating Mass in 1979). Death squads also assassinated six Jesuits, their housekeeper, and her daughter in 1989; those martyred included liberation theologians Segundo Montes and Ignacio Ellacuria.

The movement spread beyond Latin America. North American theologian James H. Cone developed black liberation theology, interpreting scripture from the perspective of slavery and the oppression of African Americans and persons of color in the United States. The Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians was formed in 1976 at a congress in Dares Salaam, Tanzania, serving as a forum for discussion of developments in liberation theology.

Liberation theology began to experience criticism from the church hierarchy under Pope John Paul II. During the CELAM conference in Puebla, Mexico, in 1979, liberation theology was criticized by the pope during his visit. His critique, informed and enforced by the Prefect of the Congregation of the Faith, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI), centered on rejection of the notions of class conflict and other Marxist elements found in liberation theology. Cardinal Ratzinger subsequently suspended Leonardo Boff from teaching and writing, making clear that liberation theology was not supported by the Vatican. Despite efforts to limit debate, elements of liberation theology continue to influence social movements globally, including continued work by theologians and activists in Europe, India, Latin America, Sri Lanka, and the United States.

Bibliography:

Boff, Leonardo, and Clodovis Boff. “A Concise History of Liberation Theology.” 1987, http://www landreform.org/boff2.htm.
Introducing Liberation Theology. New York: Orbis, 2001.
Gutierrez, Gustavo. A Theology of Liberation. New York: Orbis, 1973.

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