Liberation Theology

Liberation Theology and Action Research

Its main contribution to the action research paradigm was the formation of the action/reflection model (sometimes referred to in this context as the pastoral cycle) which encourages people of faith to constantly monitor their discipleship in terms of participation in activism and social involvement and, then, reflect on that activity with reference to scriptural understanding and the doctrine of the Church. That analysis should then inform the next stage of activism, ensuring that faithful thinking is rooted in praxis (acts) and vice versa.

Liberation theology is centred upon the notion that God wishes to liberate all those who suffer from oppression and that the biblical notion of the ‘kingdom of Heaven’, a place of peace, justice and fairness, is to be strived for as an active part of Christian discipleship. The theology is clearly influenced by the social sciences and is concerned with notions of power, social justice and equality. Among its many international exponents are Gustavo Gutiérrez (Peru), Leonardo Boff (Brazil), Juan Segundo (Uruguay), Elsa Tamez (Mexico), James Cone (USA), Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza (Germany), Desmond Tutu (South Africa), Jon Sobrino (Spain), Naim Ateek (Palestine) and Ernesto Cardenal (Nicaragua).

Oppression of Liberation Theology

Liberation theologians have themselves often been victims of oppression due to their public ‘prophetic resistance’, and during the period of National Security States in Latin America during the 1970s and 1980s, many thousands were exiled, imprisoned or killed.

Some theological commentators predicted that the end of Soviet-style communism, heralded by the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the election of more conservative senior clergy in the Catholic Church at the end of the twentieth century, would signal the demise of this revolutionary form of theology. Liberation theologians, however, had little connection with East European Marxism and even less so with the decisions being made in Rome, so it continued to have an impact on theological development in Latin America, Africa and parts of Asia. In fact, the uncertainties in global capitalism following the financial crash in 2007 and the growing disparities between the rich and the poor in many nations have led to a resurgence of interest in the subject, even in the more affluent Western nations. Significantly, since the rise of Venezuela as a regional power in Latin America following the election of the Chavez administration in 1998, and the significant shift to the left throughout the region, many advocates of liberation theology have been elected into senior political posts throughout the continent.

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