Liberation Theology: Why Should the Nations Be Glad?

The role a just God ought to have in the struggle for sociopolitical liberation has frustrated theologians for centuries; in the twentieth century, Latin American theologians began to tackle this problem by proposing that while God loves all people, God unequivocally sides with the poor in the fight for social justice, and so should the church. The relative success of this teaching in Latin American churches led to increased participation of the laity in the fight for democracy; and while movements connected with liberation theology weakened in the 1990's as a result of external pressure, liberation theology remains a recent memory and has been readapted into new contexts internationally. This project will analyze liberation theology's efficacy as the motivation for social justice in Latin America, focusing on the writing of Leonardo Boff (a Brazilian theologian) and the history of social movements which came from liberation theology's priests, laity, and affiliated movements in Brazil and Cuba. I find that liberation theology's strongest remnant lies in its pervasive grassroots presence in Latin America, in spite of backlash from the Vatican.Liberation theology's genesis as a Catholic theology proved to common people that the church was interested in radical reconciliation with oppressed social groups, such as the impoverished, Afro-Latino, and indigenous. Including the poor in the conversation about their own well-being was uniquely possible for the Church, given its historical treatment of syncretism and cultural adaptation; similarly, the relatively open relationship the Catholic Church had with the state encouraged the laity to be active in both religious and political issues. This religious empowerment of the poor ultimately strengthened the struggles for democracy.Theologically, new teachings about the significance of Jesus lent Christianity contemporary political significance instead of promoting escapism. Boff, among others, viewed Jesus as a historical figure whose teachings had contemporary relevance for a utopian society which should exist on earth. When Jesus is thus understood, his death becomes a political protest and not a sacrament for ethereal salvation. Looking at Jesus's life and message in this way led church members to seek social justice as key to their salvation, since justice was no longer merely an element of salvation but central to the message of Christ. Social justice was defined as any activity that placed members of society on equal footing, a teaching that fostered the creation of base communities that came together independently of priests to discuss theology and strategies for social change. Such communities were widely seen as the outpouring of the Spirit of God on Latin American churches.Though its adherents did not necessarily achieve their original goals, they did much to promote democratic activity in rural Brazil, made possible the survival of the church in Cuba, and ultimately fostered reconciliation across Latin America's bloody history and segregated social classes, reconciliation which exists to this day.