Understanding Liberation Theology
Daniel Levine's Popular Voices in Latin American Catholicism fills our minds with age old questions and yet provides us with the information needed to answer these questions. Throughout his writings, though obviously more concentrated in Chapter two, Levine unveils the history and worth of what is called liberation theology. Though Levine details the uses and importance of this lesser known religious outlook, I believe he does a better job of allowing us to very much understand the central ideas, beliefs, methods, and history of the liberation theology.
Levine states, "Liberation theology comes together as a theory and a set of guidelines for action around issues of poverty and the poor," (pg. 39). We must understand that this outlook has not evolved from nothing, but came from the Latin American response to Catholicism and their changes since the Second Vatican Council. Rarely in American society do we as citizens who are wealthy enough to support families, feel as if the view from the lower class is one of significance. This statement may be blunt; however we as a society of levels, stages, or classes show the poor as they did hundreds of years ago. Liberation theology, however, "values solidarity and shared experience identifies strongly with people whose loves are deformed by oppressive structures," (pg. 39). Theologians explain that they insist on the need to view religious issues through the eyes of the poor, to experience what they live through and to, "live with them in ways that undercut long-established social and cultural distances between the church and average believers," (pg. 40).
Obviously the concern for the poor is not new in the Christian community. What I expressed earlier is that our society does not view them as of same importance or value. Sure, we pity the poor, set up charities, promote programs to help the needy, and set up homeless shelters. However, what sets liberation theology apart is how the poor has a role, a promoted and distinguished role, in church, politics, and in society.
To sum up the understanding of liberation theology we must grasp the major themes. The four themes that are the basis for liberation theology are,
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a concern with history and historical change, second the return to biblical sources, third a stress on the poor and a related emphasis on doing theology in a way that enhances the value of everyday experience and the insight of average people, and finally CLONE and complex relations with Marxism" (pg.
Throughout the Iberian Peninsula and Colonial Europe, the sweeping philosophical shift from religious and spiritual pursuits to a greater emphasis on logic and reason foreshadowed remarkable social reformation. In Latin America, the Ibero...
This does not, however, dismiss the reality of torture in Chile nor soften Cavanaugh’s criticisms of “distinction of planes” ecclesiologies. Church paradigms such as Maritain’s New Christendom have led Catholics in Chile and elsewhere to buy into a “devil’s bargain” wherein the Church confines itself to the social, or spiritual, realm and allows the state to dominate in the political, or temporal, realm (196). Such ecclesiologies simultaneously facilitate the Church’s disappearance as a societal body and strip the Church of any tangible ability to counteract the actions of oppressive governments. The Chilean church’s ecclesiology had real, disastrous consequences for Chileans under the Pinochet regime – consequences that perhaps could have been mitigated under a different ecclesiological
Theology is widely accepted as the study of God and religious beliefs. Liberation theology applies the study of God and religious beliefs, to the study and experience of racial, gender and class oppression. As such, liberation theology is a theology of, by, and for those doing (as in praxis) the theology and those in solidarity with them. Such reasoning has led to formations of various liberation theologies (Yellow, Red, and Black) that speak to various oppressed groups. From this line comes, the philosophy of Black liberation theology, which seeks to liberate people of color from multiple forms of political, social, economic, and religious subjugation by interpreting Christian theology as a theology of liberation. As Black Liberation Theology aligns itself with the oppressed, this paper recalls the subversive memory of slavery to ask whether there could be a White Liberation Theology; which would look at White privilege (oppressor).
Liberation Theology for Armchair Theologians overall can be included in the genre of Theology. The fact that the genre is in fact Theology transpires into the argument of this book. In order to convey his argument De La Torre, gave a historical background in the beginning of the book to help all readers understand exactly what liberation theology is. From the roots of the Spanish converting the Indians into “civilized” people in order to gain power, economic wealth and to be able to ex...
From these convictions, the idea of black liberation theology was created. Blacks relate Christianity to the struggles they have endured, therefore it has to be black. “In a society where men are defined on the basis of color of the victims, proclaiming that the condition of the poor is incongruous with him who has come to liberate us.”
The concept of black liberation theology is a concept that requires us to scratch away at the surface of religion to uncover a new and radical approach to understanding faith and doctrine in the face of a legacy of oppression, persecution and white dominance over the black community; whilst forcing us to look at history, politics and religion all in the same sphere to grasp the fundamental question on what it means to be black and have a relationship with God. It is in itself a growing movement that is attempting to break away from the shackles of white supremacy towards a notion of religious freedom that is both tangible and metaphorical, whilst reinforcing that although we live in a modern age where the law tells us that that we are all
Poverty is a potential outcome for everyone. It’s sneaky and many people fall victim to it every year. No one believes that they have the potential to fall into debt, but it can happen through a string of bad luck, time running short, and other possibilities that can’t be controlled. People who are struggling with difficulty believe that there is no way out because no one will help them. However, there are ways for us, as a society, to help those who are short on income receive the help that they need. Many of the impoverished are thought to be slackers, addicts, or self-destructive to their lives. Society can help each other by dismembering the stereotypes given to people who are underneath the “Poverty Line” that they used as wedges between the classes. Labels given to those who’re poor have nothing to do with who they are as humans.
Karl Marx’s most prominent quote on religion refers to the contentment of the maltreated oppressed and the satisfied oppressor due to the desensitizing effect of religion. This perspective derives from Marx’s direct contact with the immense complications and disparities of the proletariats as well as the over-abundances of the bourgeoisie of his era. Unfortunately, traces of the accuracy of this inference are evident in the world’s history as well as current society. Marx concluded that religion numbs those suffering and those who inflict the pain into a dazed state of contentment without correcting the root of the issue.
People today look at the poor with scorn in their eyes. Not to mention they get grossed out when they have to even walk by them on the streets. Today, you see the poor begging on the streets and you can’t help but feel sorry for them. Some people though, think that the poor are the sorriest bunch of suckers around and that their lives have no meaning. But, according to Henry David Thoreau, the poor have some of the best lives compared to all of us that aren’t. The article, “Comfort Zones” quotes the bible saying, “‘This poor widow put more than all the other contributors’ (Mk 12:43)” The poor contributes more than you know. Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden” greatly describes how the poor are better because life if still great, they get independence, and money doesn’t help buy your soul.
According to Karl Marx, religion is like other social institutions in that it is dependent upon the material and economic realities in a given society. It has no independent history; instead it is the creature of productive forces. As Marx wrote, “The religious world is but the reflex of the real world.”
“Liberation theologians refer to this as praxis, not their focal points in teachings but also as their point of
Max Weber’s outlines his views on religion and capitalism in his book, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Weber held the important theory that an individual’s views are significant in promoting social change, not material things as believed by former theorists. In his work, Weber compares two waves of “the calling” as preached by different Protestant leaders and describes the teaching and spread of ascetic beliefs among followers. This paper considers the context of the calling, explores the outward signs of grace which helped develop capitalism and, lastly, how capitalism, through rationalization, transformed Calvinist ideals for its advancement. According to Weber’s findings, individualistic views arose through Protestant beliefs.
Independently, as one grows in age, their actions should make a daily reflection to God. In “A Theology of Liberation,” Gutierrez avers that, "The present life is considered to be a test: one’s actions are judged and assessed in relation to the transcendent end. The perspective here is moralistic, and the spirituality is one of flight from this world...
Poverty is a critical issue around the world. If no one shines a light on the situation, nothing will be done to help fix problem issues poor people face by being stuck in poverty. Inside the class, there was a lot of great information presented about the topic from great people like Dorothy Day, and Pope Benedict. CST which stands for Catholic Social Teaching touched on this subject a lot. CST has a few main points which are the promotion of human dignity through a just distribution of wealth (U.S. Catholic). Some people may not know that public authorities are not protecting the rights of poor. (U.S. Catholic). From all the materials we read inside of class the best way to help take poor people out of poverty is by taking action and assist them in. In The Long Loneliness, Dorothy Day started a very powerful movement that helped many people called the Catholic Worker movement. In The story, her husband Peter Maurin said: "we are our brother's keeper, and the unit of society is the family: that we must have a sense of personal responsibility." (Day, 17) Reading this line from the text shows if everyone had this mindset to help out poverty
Christianity propagated charity as one of the necessary acts that a good Christian should follow. Graham Gordon believes that in Christianity, "Charity is considered chief of the Christian virtues," and that "Charity is commended by St. Paul for being the true way to the end which religious practices seek"(10). We can see that in being a chief virtue, charity is highly encouraged in the sense that helping others is considered to be a great deed of good doing. Therefore, we can draw the notion that those who wish to follow the "true way to the end," are those that contribute the most to the poor, as opposed to those mentioned by Walsh who see themselves as "not responsible for the welfare of human beings.