Liberation Theology For A Democratic Society

Public Theology is an indispensable dimension of the calling of the church. As minister, bishop and academic teacher Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, in this collection of articles in English language, draws on a multitude of experiences in theological reflection as well as in pastoral praxis. The contributions of this volume include fundamental reflections on the role of churches and religion in the public sphere. But they also deal with issues of material ethics such as human rights, economic justice, overcoming violence, ecology or interreligious dialogue. The volume shows how theology can give moral guidance not only for the church but also for society as a whole.

Liberation theology originated in Catholic Latin America at the end of the 1960s in response to prevalent conditions of poverty and oppression. Its basic tenet was that it is the primary duty of the church to seek to promote social and economic justice. Since that time it has grown in influence, spreading to other areas of the Third World, along with bitter controversy about its ties to Marxist ideology and violent revolution. Drawing on both English and Spanish sources, this critical study examines the history, method, and doctrines of liberation theology. Sigmund considers the movement's origins in political circumstances in Latin America and provides case studies of its role in such events as the revolution and counter-revolution in Chile, and in the revolutionary movements in El Salvador and Nicaragua. Examining the thought of major liberation theologians, as well as the critical responses of the Vatican, Sigmund shows that liberation theology is a complex phenomenon, comprising a variety of kinds and degrees of radicalism. He discerns a general trend away from the Marxist rhetoric that has often characterized the movement in the past and towards the kind of grassroots populist reform typified by the Basic Christian Communities Movement.

Liberation theology is often characterized as rejecting democracy and, based upon their option for the poor, advocating a form of socialism. This claim is challenged through an analysis of the works of Brazilian liberation theologians, Catholic social teaching, and studies on the base community movements in Brazil from the imposition of military rule through democratization (1964-1992). Liberation theologians initially rejected liberal democracy, but by the nineties were advocating a participatory and ecological democracy. However, they differed on how such a democracy was to be achieved in the competitive political party arena. In addition, increasing ecclesiastical opposition and the collapse of existent socialist regimes marginalized liberation theologians' vision of an inclusive, participatory democracy.

The Future of Liberation Theology envisions a radical new direction for Latin American liberation theology. One of a new generation of Latin American theologians, Ivan Petrella shows that despite the current dominance of 'end of history' ideology, liberation theologians need not abandon their belief that the theological rereading of Christianity must be linked to the development of 'historical projects' - models of political and economic organization that would replace an unjust status quo. In the absence of historical projects, liberation theology currently finds itself unable to move beyond merely talking about liberation toward actually enacting it in society. Providing a bold new interpretation of the current state and potential future of liberation theology, Ivan Petrella brings together original research on the movement, with developments in political theory, critical legal theory and political economy to reconstruct liberation theology's understanding of theology, democracy and capitalism. The result is the recovery of historical projects, thus allowing liberation theologians to once again place the reality of liberation, and not just the promise, at the forefront of their task.

Liberation theology has become an essential component of almost every major debate over Latin America today. It has changed the face of political life in Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Haiti; contributed to the rise of “people power” in the Philippines; even played a role in the growing discontent of debt-plagued Brazil. Now, using the plainspoken approach that made his Inside Central America the indispensable book on current affairs in the region, Phillip Berryman traces the origins, spread, and impact of liberation theology. He shows how its proponents have radically reinterpreted basic Biblical themes (such as the Creation and the Exodus) from the perspective of the poor and isenfranchised. By not asking “What must I believe?” but rather “What is to be done?” they make a direct connection between religious beliefs and political life.

The need for global democratisation is now widely recognised, but there is considerable debate about what this means and how it can be achieved. In this important study John de Gruchy examines the historic and contemporary roles of Christianity in the development of democracy. He traces the gestation of modern democracy in medieval Christendom, and then describes the virtual breakdown of the relationship as democracy becomes the polity of modernity. Five twentieth-century case studies - the USA, Nicaragua, sub-Saharan Africa, Germany and South Africa - demonstrate the extent to which ecumenical Christianity has begun to reconnect with democracy and act as its contemporary midwife. De Gruchy argues that democracy needs to rediscover its spiritual heritage, while Christianity needs to develop a theology adequate for its participation in the realisation of a just democratic world order.

This book discusses religion and theology, in light of the recent liberation theology in Latin America and the earlier natural system of liberty in North America.