LIBERATION THEOLOGY: LIBERATING THEOLOGY AND HUMANITY

TGU 6042-01
Prof. SIGAMONEY SHAKESPEARE

WRITE ON THE CONTEXT AND CONTRIBUTION OF DR. AMBEDKAR TOWARDS

LIBERATION OF DALITS AND WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF LIBERATION
THEOLOGY FOR TODAY.

Submitted by:

HYMELONG DOUANLA JOSINE

2023411404
 CONTEXT AND CONTRIBUTION OF DR. AMBEDKAR TOWARDS LIBERATION OF
DALITS

I- INTRODUCTION:
Bimrao Ramji Ambedkar (often known as Babasaheb) was born in April 14 th, 1891 in Mhow,
located in Madhya Pradesh, a state in the centre of India. He was the fourteenth child of a family
of the Mahar caste, a caste originating in Maharashtra, whose traditional functions included in
particular cleaning up the carcasses of dead animals, and which was regarded by most Hindus as
“untouchables.” Because his father served in the British army and lived in a garrison town,
Ambedkar was able to benefit from easier access to education. 1 However, from his early age he
was confronted with the social inequalities, humiliating, and often violent treatment given to his
community by the higher castes. As a result, “he devoted his life writing and fighting against the
caste system in India, especially for the human rights of ex-untouchables known as Dalits.” 2 This
paper will address the context and contribution of Dr. Ambedkar towards liberation of Dalits by
examining the following: The concept and context of caste in India, B.R.Ambedkar’s view about
caste violence in India, and B.R.Ambedkar’s role towards liberation of the Dalits.
II- CONCEPT AND CONTEXT OF CASTE IN INDIA
Caste originated from the Spanish and Portuguese word, ‘Casta,’ meaning lineage or race. It is
derived from the Latin ‘castus’ meaning pure. Its current spelling is based on the French word
‘caste’ which appeared in 1740 in the academics and is hardly found before the 18 th century. The
Indian use of this word is associated with hierarchical divisions.3 This division stratified the
Indian society into occupational-defined Jatis, grouped into more rigid hierarchical Varna or
color castes based on ritual purity. Brahmical texts reveal that these castes were, the Brahmins
(scholars, teachers, and fire priests), the Kshatriyas (kings, warriors, law enforcers,
administrators) Vaishyas (agriculturists, cattle raisers, traders, bankers), the Shudras (artisans,
craftsmen, service providers), and the Dalits (foreigners, nomads, forest tribes and the chandalas,
who dealt with disposal of the dead). 4 The Indian culture and civilization perceived the Dalits as
being “so vile that they were not to be considered as a part of the social system at all; they were
the untouchables and were completely shunned from society, forbidden to live amongst those of
high castes.”5 Their untouchability was due not to their choice but imposed upon them by the
Hindu society and civilization.
The history of caste began with Western and colonial encounters with the Indian
civilization. Scholars who studied caste pointed out that each caste existing in the Indian social
order was endogamous, that is, marriage was allowed only between people within a specific
1
Jules Naudet, “Ambedkar and the Critique of Caste Society” La Vie des Idees, from, https:/
/booksandideas. Net/IMG/pdf/20091127_Ambedkar_EN., accessed on 30.5.2023 at 5:22 am.
2
Anup Hiwrale, “Caste: Understanding the Nuances from Ambedkar’s Expositions” Journal of Social
Inclusion Studies Vol.6 No 1 (2020):78.
3
Ibid, 79-80.
4
Sukhdeep Singh, “Caste System: B.R. Ambedkar’s Perspective” RJPP, vol.15 No.3 (2017): 17. Available
at http”//anubooks.com?pageid=2004.
5
Setfreealliance.org/indian-caste-system-explained, “The Indian Caste System: Explained,” accessed on 3-
6-2023 at 5:28 am.

2
caste. Such social order was strongly rooted in the meaning of the words Jati and Varna, 6 which
in the Hindus culture represent the essence of the caste system. While “the term ‘varna’ means
color, the term ‘Jati’ denotes caste, a group the membership of which is acquired by birth. The
term ‘Jati’ etymologically means something into which one is born. It was occasionally used by
good ancient authorities as equivalent to varna.” 7 In other words, a caste is a social system based
on two features: the inherited professions and hierarchy (Jati) and the purity and impurity
grounded in the idea of Varna. In this scheme, “the Brahmins have always been placed on top of
the Hindus hierarchical order, whereas the untouchable community, the Dalits, have been outside
the formal hierarchy.”8 This stratification became static over time and heritable with the rise of
Hinduism and its beliefs of contamination and reincarnation.
Even today, the Indian society is following the same Varna system where the society is
categorized into the Brahmans, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and the Shudras. The Shudras in the
contemporary Indian society are known as the Dalits, a Marathi word meaning broken, or
oppressed. Just as in the past, today also, the Dalits have been at the very bottom of Indian’s
caste hierarchy and considered impure and polluted because of their traditional occupations.
Representing 170 million in India, and thus, 17% of the population, they just have less than 5%
over Indian economy and must live either in rural areas or specific areas in cities. Due to
exclusion, they are denied basic human rights such as the right to education, to own property, to
use public and common stuffs such as wells, tanks, and temples. Every day, their belongings are
victims of atrocities, they are murdered, kidnaped, beaten, and their wives and daughters are
raped.9 So, from history till now, the caste system has been an illness ruining the Hindus society
with much more impact on the lower and most vulnerable caste, the Dalits, also called in the
modern India, the Shudras. B.R. Ambedkar occupies a unique position in India’s collective
imagination and remains a key figure for the Dalits in that he fought against violence of caste in
India both within the colonial and post-colonial period.10 Before launching into his contribution
towards the emancipation of the Dalits, it is crucial to briefly discuss his view about caste
violence in India.
III- B.R.AMBEDKAR’S VIEW ABOUT CASTE VIOLENCE IN INDIA
In his seminal lecture in 1916, Ambedkar argued, “there is no such thing as caste; there are only
castes.”11 This declaration clearly shows that he saw caste system as being essentially pluralist.
He submitted that the caste system was built upon segregation and discrimination which could
not work without various castes demarcated against each other because of ritual cleanliness.
6
Hiwrale,80.
7
G.S. Ghurye, Caste and Race in India (Bombay: Popular Publication, 1963), 176.
8
Ibid, Indian Culture (Bombay: Popular Publication, 1966), 180.
9
V.A. Haseena, “The History of Dalit Culture and their Deplorable Situation in India” IISTE Vol. 23
(2015):1-3. Website: www.iiste.org.
10
Sarah Gandee, “Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar and the Reinterpretation of ‘Untouchability’: Legislating
against Caste Violence in Rural India, 1930-1975” Retrospectives vol.4 No1 (2015):16.
11
B.R. Ambedkar, “Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development.” Paper presented at the
Anthropology Seminar, Columbia University, New York, May 9, 1916. In Babasaheb Ambedkar Writings and
Speeches, Compiled by Vasant Moon. Vol.1, 3-22 (Bombay: Education Department, Government of Maharashtra,
1970), 20.

3
Based on this standpoint he spoke of the untouchable as the cornerstone of the whole caste
system since it was their obvious pollution that distinct and ranked them against other castes.
Given this, Ambedkar assumed that the untouchables were kept in a perpetually unclean state
thus permitting higher castes to maintain their purity. The term he used to posit this pluralistic
and hierarchical system was, graded inequality. 12 Still existing in Indian society, the graded
inequality is a Hindus discriminating system in which only birth decides a man’s status and rank
in the society. If a man was born in a certain caste, he remains there forever despite any talent he
might display or wealth he might amass. Ambedkar denigrates such a system and points out that
it is not different from racial segregation, since it divides people from the same race and
nationality. In his view, caste system can only put the Indian society in perpetual poverty,
injustice, disorganization and demoralization,13 with much more frustration on the lower caste,
the Dalits, who are deprived of education, good living and human self-worth.
Besides, untouchability, which was born some time about 400 AD from the struggle for
supremacy between Buddhism and Brahmanism, created a sense of superiority and inferiority in
the relation between man and man. Ambedkar says that it is rather a social than political
problem. It has survived through adaptation of new socio economic realities and it is taking new
and insidious forms, making the Hindu Society inhomogeneous, that is, lacking a national spirit
and failing to accommodate both insiders and outsiders. 14 Ambedkar strongly believed that only
by conveying “the ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity would this vice be eradicated.”15 On
this, he agreed with M.K. Gandhi who considered untouchability as “a cup of poison,” 16 and also
dedicated his life promoting its “removal.”17
Moreover, Ambedkar posited that a unified aspect of graded inequality was the
naturalization of caste violence across society, as each of the lower caste adopted the hierarchy in
an attempt to defend their own precarious position within it. In his view, this system was not
imposed by the Brahmins. Instead, the infection of imitation whereby each caste sought to model
themselves on Brahmin tradition ensured the practice of exclusion permeated across society.
This complicity in Ambedkar’s opinion was the most important aspect in uploading the violence
of caste.18 He repeatedly used the phrase, “‘illegal laws of the Hindus' , as a form of Walter
Benjamin's ‘law-preserving violence’, stating that regularized structural violence passes for
legitimate law; hence, the violence of untouchability took the appearance of something other
than itself, a legitimate social order.”19 An illustrative example of his point about the
12
Susan Bayly, Caste, Society and Politics in India from the Eighteenth Century to the Modern Age
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999), 20.
13
B.R. Ambedkar, Annihilation of Cast (Mumbai: Writing and Speeches of Babasaheb Ambedkar
published in 1989 by the Government of Maharashtra, 1936), 57.
14
Singh, 18.
15
Ambedkar, 1936, 57.
16
Ibid.
17
Sujay Biswas, “Gandhi’s Approach to Caste and Untouchability: A Reappraisal” World Affairs: The
Journal of International Issues, vol.4No.2 (1995):28, from jstsor.org/stable/26611325, accessed 8-6-2023 at 6:52am.
18
Gandee, 18.
19
Anupama Rao, The Caste Question: Dalits and the Politics of Modern India (Ranikhet: Permanent black,
2010), 166.

4
naturalization of caste violence is the following statement, “The Indian Village is not a single
social unit… [it] is divided into two sections, the Touchables and Untouchables…. Touchables
live inside the village and Untouchables live outside the village…Untouchables occupy the
position of a subject race of hereditary bondsmen…[who] must conform to the status of an
inferior [wearing]the mark of his inferiority.”20 Thus, untouchability was an act of violence in
that in addition to inequality, it naturally divided people, even from the same village,
disadvantaging some while favoring others. Ambedkar’s fight against such system resulted in the
“anti-caste movement also known as, the annihilation of caste.”21
IV- B.R.AMBEDKAR’S ROLE TOWARDS LIBERATION OF THE DALITS
During his life, B. R. Ambedkar tried many strategies to overcome caste violence. In 1920, his
initial attempts had centred on the separation of untouchables from Hinduism, which he saw as
resting upon inequality. One of the ways to achieve this was his reinterpretation of minority, in
which he redefined untouchables as a political minority whose rights were overshadowed by the
Hindu majority despite their numerical strength. Emphasizing that the untouchables occupied the
lowest position in the hierarchy of minorities in India due to their specific disadvantages, he
argued that they greatly needed safeguards because of the specific civic disabilities that were
forced upon them by the majority.
In the Southborough committee (1919), the Simon Commission (1928) and the Round
Table Conferences (1930-31) meant to delineate the untouchables’ need for political separation,
he made the following submission: ‘The primary division in Hindu society is between touchables
and untouchables, meaning that territorially based-electoral constituencies would always
marginalize the untouchable minority. Thus, there should be some form of protection of
untouchable interests.’ During the Second Round Table Conference, having forged close links
with the Muslim, Anglo-Indian and Christian representatives on the minorities committee,
together with them, he put forward memorandum demanding a separate electorate with reserved
seats for untouchables. The argument found favor with the colonial administration, and in 1932
the British government announced Award, recognizing the right of untouchables to separate
electorates.22
This brought Ambedkar into conflict with Mohandas Gandhi because of their ideological
differences. In 1947, within his Memorandum on the Safeguards for the Scheduled Castes
submitted to the Fundamental Rights Sub-Committee, he demanded that the system of election
introduced by the Poona Pact (law adopted in 1932, establishing reserved seats in the legislatures
for untouchables) be abolished and replaced by the system of separate electorate. He also
requested a provision to 'hold uncultivated lands belonging to the State in trust for Settlement of
the Scheduled Castes in separate villages. These demands sought to ensure a voice for

20
B.R Ambedkar, Untouchables, or the Children of India’s Ghettos in Sarah Gandee, “Dr Bhimrao Ramji
Ambedkar and the Reinterpretation of ‘Untouchability’: Legislating against Caste Violence in Rural India, 1930-
1975” Retrospectives vol.4 No1 (2015):19.
21
Sateesh V. Jyoti, “Annihilation of Caste: The Force behind Dalit Movement” International Journal of
Creative Research Thought, IJCRT, vol.5No.4 (2017): 309. Website: www.ijcrt.org.
22
Gandee, 21-22.

5
untouchables by forming a political majority and also to provide a physical escape from the
violence of caste.
But these requests were rejected and he was thus forced to seek an alternative strategy.
His reiteration that the untouchables deserve specific safeguards prompted a culminated debate
in passing Article 46, wherein the Indian states were obliged to promote educational and
economic interests of untouchables, and Articles 330 and 332, which provided reservation of
seats in the house of the people and Legislative Assembles of the states. This marked out a
separate sphere for untouchables in the constitution. While the majority of the population and
significantly caste Hindus would be governed by market principles of competition, untouchables
would be governed by social intervention to facilitate their equalization. Ambedkar speech to the
constituent assembly in November 1948 demonstrated this, as he welcomed the system of
reserved seats and positive discrimination hoping that majorities and minorities would someday
merge into one.23
In his efforts to establish socio-economic deprivation as one indicator of the violence of
untouchability, Ambedkar also involved with the temple entry and access to public facilities,
satyagrahas at Parvati (1929) and Kalaram (1930-35). The satyagrahas were launched to open up
caste temples to untouchables. Although acts of violence by the upper castes broke out these
endeavors, importantly for Ambedkar, they acted as mechanism to mobilize untouchables by
forcing recognition of the violence that characterized their daily existence. Also, to destabilize
the structural violence uploading caste, Ambedkar stressed the need for the abolition of the
practices upon which graded inequality rested. The Constituent Assembly concurred and as a
result passed Article 23, prohibiting ‘begar’ (forced labour), and article 25, enforcing the
throwing open of Hindu religious institutions. This was the beginning of the process of
unmasking the neutralized Brahmical ideology and it placed an obligation on the state to enforce
criminalization.
By his position as a Law minister in the first government, he also tried to reform Hindu
practices. Because he saw caste perpetuation both through the naturalization of graded inequality
and the control of female reproduction; in 1916, he claimed that caste was a mechanism for
repairing the disparity between the marriageable units of the two sexes. So, as Law Minister he
sought to abolish laws supporting Hindu social customs such as the Sati (1929), related to
widowhood and girl marriage and promoting endogamy, a sure way to preserve the caste system.
This attempt provoked much opposition within the constituent and finally led him to resign from
the government. It was thus his last effort to eradicate caste through legislation.24
Last but not the least; at the Mahar Conference in Bombay Presidency in 1936,
Ambedkar realized that as long as the Dalits remained Hindus they will continue to fight for
food, water, social gathering etc. So, in October 1956, shortly before his death, he renounced
Hinduism for Buddhism together with several hundred thousands of his fellow untouchables in
Nagpur. This appeared as a new path for the Dalits’ emancipation as Ambedkar firmly believed

23
Ibid, 23-24.
24
Ibid,26

6
that since the foundation of Hinduism was the caste system, conversion was also to be the only
means to liberate the Dalits. 25
V- CONCLUSION
To sum up, this paper discussed the overall problem of caste system and specifically the violence
against the Dalits, also known as untouchables in the Hindu society. It has demonstrated that
B.R.Ambedkar played a major role in the emancipation of this caste throughout his life. Despite
the deep analysis of this study, a question is still yet to be answered, that is, did Ambedkar’s try
to liberate the Dalits succeed or failed?
VI- BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ambedkar, B.R. Annihilation of Cast. Mumbai: Writing and Speeches of Babasaheb Ambedkar
published in 1989 by the Government of Maharashtra, 1936.

------------------. “Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development.” Paper

presented at the Anthropology Seminar, Columbia University, New York, May 9, 1916.
In Babasaheb Ambedkar Writings and Speeches, Compiled by Vasant Moon. Vol.1, 3-22.
Bombay: Education Department, Government of Maharashtra, 1970.

-----------------. Untouchables or the Children of India’s Ghettos in Sarah Gandee In “Dr

Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar and the Reinterpretation of ‘Untouchability’: Legislating
against Caste Violence in Rural India, 1930-1975” Retrospectives vol.4 No1 (2015):19.

Bayly, Susan. Caste, Society and Politics in India from the Eighteenth Century to the Modern
Age. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.

Biswas, Sujay. “Gandhi’s Approach to Caste and Untouchability: A Reappraisal” World Affairs:
The Journal of International Issues, vol.4No.2 (1995):28. From jstsor.org/ stable/2661
1325, accessed 8-6-2023 at 6:52am.

Dhankar, Garima. “Dalit Movements in India and the Role of Ambedkar” International Journal
of Political Science and Governance vol.4 No2 (2022):22-23.

Gandee, Sarah. “Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar and the Reinterpretation of ‘Untouchability’:
Legislating against Caste Violence in Rural India, 1930-1975” Retrospectives vol.4 No1
(2015):16.

Ghurye, G.S. Caste and Race in India. Bombay: Popular Publication, 1963.
--------------- Indian Culture. Bombay: Popular Publication, 1966.

Haseena, V.A. “The History of Dalit Culture and their Deplorable Situation in India” IISTE Vol.
23(2015):1-3. Website: www.iiste.org.

25
Garima Dhankar, “Dalit Movements in India and the Role of Ambedkar” International Journal of
Political Science and Governance vol.4 No2 (2022):22-23.

7
Hiwrale, Anup. “Caste: Understanding the Nuances from Ambedkar’s Expositions.” Journal of
Social Inclusion Studies Vol.6 No 1 (2020):78.

Jyoti, Sateesh V. “Annihilation of Caste: The Force behind Dalit Movement” International
Journal of Creative Research Thought, IJCRT, vol.5No.4 (2017): 309. Website:
www.ijcrt.org.

Naudet, Jules. “Ambedkar and the Critique of Caste Society.” La Vie des Idees. From,
https://
booksandideas.Net/IMG/pdf/20091127_Ambedkar_EN. Accessed on 30.5.2023 at 5:22
am.

Setfreealliance.org/indian-caste-system-explained. “The Indian Caste System: Explained.”

Accessed on 36-2023 at 5:28 am.

Singh, Sukhdeep. “Caste System: B.R. Ambedkar’s Perspective.” RJPP, vol.15 No.3 (2017): 17.
Available at http”//anubooks.com?pageid=2004.

Rao, Anupama. The Caste Question: Dalits and the Politics of Modern India. Ranikhet:
Permanent black, 2010.

SIGNIFICANCE OF LIBERATION THEOLOGY FOR TODAY

8
Liberation theology is highly appropriate for this phase of human history as the postmodern
world needs a multifaceted salvation. Its relevance for nowadays is explained in the following:
First of all, Liberation Theology, as a new branch of theology, has been beautifying the
subject of theology and giving it more credibility. One of the major critics about theology has
always been that, albeit it is “‘faith seeking understanding’, or simply stated, ‘thinking about
God,’”26 it has been more theoretical than practical. When people reflect about this subject, the
first thing that comes to their mind is a lot of academic papers, books, or good sermons, which in
major cases are without tangible fruits. As a result, theology most times seems very boring for
majority of its audience. Nevertheless, since Liberation Theology came about, the evidence of
God’s salvific work in human lives and history are now more obvious. For it emphasizes praxis
over dogma, and relates orthodoxy with orthopraxis, that is, it manifests the Christian belief by
actions and thus makes the Church the sacrament of history, and a visible symbol of grace. 27This
alone, is a positive advertisement of theology, especially in a modern world where the various
religious beliefs seem to be competing, so as to gain as many followers as possible.
Gustavo Gutierrez, “born June 8, 1928; Roman Catholic theologian and Dominican
priest, also considered as the father of Liberation theology,” 28 defined this branch of theology as
“a critical reflection on Christian praxis in light of the word of God.” 29 This definition is an
explicit statement of the Church’s calling because Christian praxis seems to mean nothing else
than the proclamation and manifestation of God’s Kingdom. Considering this, Liberation
Theology as other branches of theology is God’s response to all form of problems affecting
human happiness, especially in this modern age. A clear understanding of this truth lies in the
definition of the word praxis itself. It is “a reflection and action upon the world in order to
transform it;” 30 also, it is “a deliberative, responsible, human moral action involving the process
of wise judgment,”31 inspired by God’s Word. As it combines theory and action, praxis results in
the creation of a fairer world, which is what everyone living on earth today seems to desire.
Also, by emphasizing Christian praxis, Liberation Theology simply urges the Church to
keep collaborating with God in the task of saving mankind. It has been shown from generation to
generation that, “the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will
of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to
decay and brought into the freedom of the children of God” (Romans 8: 18-19). Nowadays,

26
Paul Badham, “What is Theology?” Sages Journals, from https//www.journals.sagepub.com, accessed on
13-6-2023 at 6:52 am.
27
Laurens de Rooij and Joanildo B. F. Joaquim, “Liberation Theology” from
Researchgate.net/publication/31 22 9293_Liberation_Theology, accessed on 13.6.2023 at 06:03 am
28
Britannica.com/biography/Gustavo-Gutierrez, “Gustavo Gutierrez: Peruvian Theologian” edited by The
Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, accessed on 12.7.2023 at 7:52 am.
29
Gustavo Gutierrez, A Theology of Liberation: History, Politics, and Salvation (New York: Orbis Book,
1973), XXIX.
30
P. Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed (Penguin, 1952), 52. From, sustaining community .wordpress. Com
/2020 /03/12/what-is-praxis, accessed 12.6.2923 at 8:37am.
31
M.J.Connor, “The practical Discourse in Philosophy and Nursing: An Exploration of Linkages and Shifts
in the Evolution of Praxis” Nursing Philosophy vol.5No1 (2004):56. Website: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1466-
769X.2004.00152.x

9
considering the creation’s present sufferings, more than before, mankind is awaiting in eager
expectation for the children of God to be revealed (Romans8:19). Liberation theologians are thus
God’s servants for the fulfillment of such expectations as they are gospel preachers, academic
writers, and performers of works of grace inspired by God’s word and the Holy Spirit. Their
praxis brings about in various spheres of human lives, “freedom from different kinds of earthly
slavery whether in economic, social, political, environmental, familial or individual spheres, all
of which derive ultimately from sin, and so often prevent people from living in a manner
befitting their dignity.”32
Thus, independently of the time, society and people, Christian praxis is the revelation of
Christ relevance in human’s affairs. An illustrative example of this is what occurred in Brazil in
the years 1950s-1960s. This country was undergoing crisis resulting from industrialization and
mechanization of agriculture, which caused the underprivileged to experience an extreme
poverty. Amidst this situation, the Catholic Church became the locus for political conversations.
On the ground, priests and nuns encouraged small communities of the poor to gather and read the
Bible. Hundreds of thousands of people began to reflect on life and the Bible in what became
known as base communities. From this reflection came actions to improve the lives of the poor, 33
thus delivering them from their misery and revealing to them how present has Christ been in
their situation. Other major forms of Christian praxis in human history are “Latin American
liberation theology, black liberation theologies, feminist theologies, womanist theologies,
Latina/o and mujerista theologies, Native American liberation theologies, LGBTQ+liberation
theologies, and ecojustice theologies.”34 These divisions of liberation theology all serve today as
means to promote and apply Christian praxis.
Africa is not an exception in this process. An instance of Christian praxis there was the
“Negritude Movement of 1930s and 1940s, a response to the colonial domination that obliterated
African history and destroyed the African future, awakened a black consciousness that enabled
African priests to overcome the invisibility of Africans by helping them begin to formulate a
Christian theology that is distinctly African,” 35 and which is being promoted by the
contemporary African theologians. These examples show that even though Christian praxis
operates differently, based on the people, the time, place and problem, it points to the fact that
Liberation Theology is first and foremost an unlimited “quest for incarnated Christianity.” 36 This

32
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, “Instruction on Certain Aspects of the ‘Theology of
Liberation,” from Vatican.va/roman curia/congregations/faith/documents/rc_con…, accessed on 13.6.2023 at
8:33am.
33
Thia Coper, “Liberation Theology and the Spiral of Violence” in Andrew R. Murphy, The Blackwell
Companion to Religion and Violence (United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2011), 543-544.
34
Craig L. Nessan, “Liberation Theologies in America,” from oxfordre.co m/religion / display/10 .1093 /ac
refore/9780199340378…, accessed on 13-6-2023 at 9:07 am.
35
Joseph Ogbonnaya, “African Liberative Theologies” in Introducing Liberative Theologies edited by
Miguel A.De La Torre (New York: Orbis Books, 2015), 26.
36
Kanayo Louis Nwadialor and Charles Chukwuemeka Nweke, “The Relevance of the Church in
Oppressive Situations: The Praxis of Liberation Theology in Africa” From c:/users/user/Downloads/109607-Article
%20Text-300969-1-10-20-141110%20(1).pdf, accessed on 13-6-2023 at 9:46 am.

10
search might not cease until the second return of Jesus the Christ, who alone is able to fully
satisfy human’s thirst and hunger.
Furthermore, Liberation theology has a unique methodology as it provides a new way of
reading scriptures and interpreting Christian faith, which can be used both by theologians and
average believers. Traditionally, theological method is how a person approaches exegesis and
theology. Because of this, there are five theological disciplines: biblical studies, biblical
theology, historical theology, systematic theology, and practical theology.37These disciplines
stipulate that appropriate hermeneutic is required to arrive at a plausible biblical doctrine. Unlike
them, Liberation Theology lays emphasis on “the poor, the oppressed, the marginalized, and the
exploited class that comprises the majority of the population.” 38 It is specifically done through
“the eyes of the poor and attempts to understand scripture, Christian tradition, and ultimately
who God is and who Christ is, through the poor’s viewpoint because it presupposes that Christ
has a particular identification with those who are excluded.” 39 Thus, any poor or oppressed can
become a liberation theologian because they just need to find the scripture appropriate to their
plight, study it, and derive from it ideas and actions that would become potential ways to their
deliverance. For this reason, Gustavo Gutierrez asserted that liberation theology is a theology of
life in which the oppressed struggle themselves for their liberation.40
As it makes hermeneutics more concrete and closer to real life circumstances, Liberation
Theology appears as the proclamation of the Good news of/about Jesus Christ, who is the Bread
and the Breath of Life, and also the Living water. The traditional method of reading and
interpreting the Bible seemed to the community of faith as a refrigerator, a museum or cemetery
where no move was made to the contemporary reality of readers. It was for them a hermeneutic
which prefers to discover the historical meaning of the text, meaning of then and there, which
kills life of scriptures. But Liberation Theology, while keeping historical and literal meaning,
focuses its hermeneutic on the here and now, by keep struggling to get the inner sense, the spirit
(rather the Spirit) of the Scriptures, which alone has the power to liberate its readers and
hearers.41 People practice this method during church discipleship class or Sunday school, as they
interact with the scriptures and then relate and apply them to their existing situations. As they
ride the scriptures like this in the context of their lives, 42 they find Life itself and get salvation
from all sort of slavery.

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37
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Atilio R.Dupertuis, “Liberation Theology” Journal of the Adventist Theological Society vol2 No2 (1991):
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39
Roberto Goizuet, “The Boisi Center Interview,” from bc.edu /content/dam /files/centers/ Boisi/ pdf/s.
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40
Gutierrez, xiv.
41
Carlos Mesters, Defenseless Flowers: A New Reading of the Bible (Maryknoll: Orbis Books and Catholic
Institute for International Relationship, 1989), 85.
42
Ibid, 90.

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