Liberation Theology

Latin America
 LT: a Christian response to
economic injustice
• An intellectual and social movement in Latin America
beginning in the 1960s
• Rooted in Christian faith and Scriptures and
developed from conscientious members of religious
orders.
• Members of the religious orders are committed to the
vow of poverty and do not own property individually,
nevertheless they enjoy a standard of living and
security that separates them from the daily agony of
the poor.
• The question then arose for some of them: what is
the ‘ideal of poverty’ in a situation where most are
suffering dehumanizing poverty, and what should
the Church and Christians do about it?
• The theologians who formulated liberation theology
had close contact with poor communities - didn’t
teach in universities and seminaries.

• Since they spend much time working directly with

the poor themselves, the questions they deal with
arise out of their direct contact with the poor.

• Liberation theology interprets the Bible through the

experiences of the poor.

• It deals with Jesus's life and message: The poor

learn to read the Scripture in a way that affirms their
dignity and self worth and their right to struggle
together for a more decent life.
• The poverty of people is largely a product of the way
society is organized therefore liberation theology is a
"critique of economic structures".

• Phillip Berryman described the liberation theology in the

following terms:

– "Liberation theology is:

• 1. An interpretation of Christian faith out of the
suffering, struggle, and hope of the poor;
• 2. A critique of society and the ideologies sustaining
it (profit, power, pride);
• 3. A critique of the activity of the church and of
Christians from the angle of the poor".
 Brief History of Colonial Latin
America
• Spanish Crown (1485-1530) – Golden Age
– Ferdinand (Aragon) and Isabella (Castile)
• United kingdoms = new power of Iberian Peninsula/Europe
• Reconquista/Crusades – Evangelize the world

• Columbus (1487 – 1506)

– Honor, riches, pride (Capitulations of Santa Fe)
– Zealot: believed he was the bearer of Christ to heathens

– Treaty of Tordesilla
• Pope Alexander VI divide the world between Portugal and
Spain
 Conquistadors and Colonization
seeking treasure
• Hernán Cortéz – 1519 enticed by gold,
conquered Tenochtitlan (Mexico City) with less
than 1000 men in 1521.
• Francisco Pizarro – 1532;168 men (68 horses)
conquered the heart of Incan Empire by tricking
the Sapa Inca (king).
– Emperor attempted to buy his freedom by filling a large
room with gold and silver – this only fuels the flames of
greed for riches.
• European advantages
– Horses
– Guns
– Surprise/naiveté
– Germs
 Role of colonies
• To enrich the Crown with bullion, raw materials
and labor
• “The colonies' central purpose was to serve the
interests of the metropolis [Crown] by producing
raw materials needed to manufacture in the
home country, and then by providing a market
for what was made” (Bakewell, 2004, p.368)
• Mercantile system of a kingdom created monopolies that
provided raw materials to the homeland. Monopolies
ensured the Crown got their slice of the wealth (taxation).
Over-taxation, inefficiency in production, high prices to
colonies.
Major colonial sources of wealth

• Brazil:
– red dye (brazilwood), sugarcane, cotton,
coffee, gold and emeralds, cacao, rice, Indian
labor

• Mexico and Latin America:

– silver, gold, sugar, leather Indian labor
 Role of the Church in the
Medieval/Classical worldview
• God’s Church on Earth –> Roman Catholic
Church
– Pope was closest to God (hierarchy), was considered
authority of God on Earth
• “Notion of church-state separation was scarcely
conceivable in this time” (Bakewell, p 138, 2004)
– Kings were faithful and obedient to the pope,
tantamount to obedience to God
– Kings had the ‘divine right of God’ and appointed
bishops in their kingdom
• Function of citizen of kingdom was to be loyal
and supportive of king, and thereby God, by
being obedient, faithful to position in life.
Consequences of a rigid, hierarchical
social/ political/ economic structure, in
which the Church and State are
intimately intertwined:
• Leaders of the Church benefit from close
relationships with heads of state.
– Church leaders do not advocate for change of
this structure, that is, a more equal distribution
of power/resources that would benefit the
poor, because this would threaten their
privileged position in society.
• “People are keenly and painfully aware
that a large part of the Church is in one
way or another linked to those who wield
economic and political power in today’s
world.”
• “This applies to its position in the opulent
and oppressive countries as well as in the
poor countries, as in Latin America, where
it is tied to the exploiting classes.”
• “Is the Church fulfilling [its] role when, by
its silence or friendly relationships, it lends
legitimacy to a dictatorial or oppressive
government?” (Gutiérrez, p65)
Economic Development vs Liberation
• Development was a movement of the 1950s to beat
3rd world poverty w/ economic policies
– IMF, World Bank loans, foreign investment, new technology
• “development consists in increased wealth or, at
most, a higher level of well-being”
• “development is a total social process, which
includes economic, social, political, and cultural
aspects”
• Development failed to lead poor countries out of
economic stagnation and oppressive poverty.
WHY??
•
Failure of economic development in
“It has been promoted by international organizations [IMF,
World Bank, the
WTO] 1950s –
closely linked 1960s:
to groups and governments
which control the world economy.”
• “The changes encouraged were to be achieved within the
formal structure of the existing institutions without challenging
them.”
• “Great care was exercised not to attack the interests of large
international economic powers nor those of their natural allies,
the ruling domestic interests groups.”
• “The so-called changes were often nothing more than new and
underhanded ways of increasing the power of strong economic
groups.”
• “Since supporters of development did not attack the roots of
evil, they failed [to cause true growth] and caused instead
confusion and frustration” (Gutiérrez, p26).
– Gutiérrez defines the root of evil as being the inherent selfishness of man
 Three interpenetrating levels of
liberation
• Liberation expresses the economic, social and
political aspirations of oppressed peoples and social
classes that put them at odds with wealthy nations
and oppressive classes.
– Liberation as the best of development is within this level of
liberation, which includes internal and external liberation of
man.
– Liberation as man assuming conscious responsibility for his
own destiny.
– Liberation from a theological perspective: Christ is the one
who liberates us, from sin, from sinful structures, which is
the ultimate root of all disruption of friendship and of all
injustice and oppression” (Gutiérrez, 36-37).
Role of the Church
Basic Principles of LT
Priority of Praxis over Theory
History as a Focus of Theology
 Reading the Bible
• http://www.socinian.org/files/LiberationThe
ology.pdf