There is a phrase in Spanish that I used frequently when teaching courses on Church History. The phrase came in the form of a question, "Como fue que comenzo el bochinche (How did the gossip begin)?" In order to give a working definition to Liberation Theology (hereafter known as LT), I will give a historical background to its origin and development.
1. Antecedents
The historical roots of Liberation Theology are to be found in the prophetic tradition of evangelists and missionaries from the earliest colonial days in Latin America-churchmen who questioned the type of presence adopted by the Church and the way indigenous peoples, blacks, mestizos, and the poor rural and urban masses were treated. The names of Bartolome de las Casas, Antonio de Montesinos, and others can stand for a whole host of religious personalities who have graced every century of our short history. They are the source of the type of social and ecclesial understanding that is emerging today (Clodovis and Leonardo Boff, Introducing Liberation Theology. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1987, p. 66).
A. Social and Political Development
The populist governments of the 1950's and 1960's- especially in Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico-inspired nationalistic consciousness and significant industrial development in the shape of import substitution. This benefited the middle classes and urban proletariat, but threw huge sectors of the peasantry into deeper rural marginalization or sprawling urban shantytowns. Development proceeded along the lines of dependent capitalism, subsidiary to that of the rich nations and excluding the great majorities of national populations. This process led to the creation of strong popular movements seeking profound changes in the socio-economic structure of their countries. These movements, in turn provoked the rise of military dictatorships, which sought to safeguard or promote the interests of capital, associated with a high level of "national security" achieved through political repression and police control of all public demonstrations (Boff and Boff, p.67).
In this context, the socialist revolution in Cuba stood out as an alternative leading to the dissolution of dependence which was considered to be the main course of underdevelopment. Pockets of armed uprising appeared in many countries, aimed at overthrowing the ruling powers, and installing socialist-inspired regimes. There was a great stirring for change among the popular sections of society, a truly revolutionary atmosphere (Boff and Boff, p.67).
B. Church Development
Starting in the 1960's, a great wind of renewal blew through the churches. They began to take their social mission seriously: lay persons committed themselves to work among the poor, charismatic bishops and priests encouraged the calls for progress and national modernization. Various church organizations promoted understanding of and improvements in the living conditions of the people: movements such as Young Christian Students, Young Christian Workers, Young Christian Agriculturists, the Movement for Basic Education, groups that set up educational radio programs, and the first base ecclesial communities (Boff and Boff,p 67).
The work of these-generally middle-class-Christians sustained by the European theology of earthly realities, such as humanism, social personalism, progressive evolutionism, etc., and reflections on the social dimension of dogma. The Second Vatican Council then gave the best theoretical justification to activities developed under the signs of a theology of progress, of authentic secularization and human advancement (Boff and Boff, p.68).
The end of the 1960's, with the crisis of populism, and the developmental model, brought the advent of a vigorous current of sociological thinking, which unmasked the true causes of underdevelopment. Development and underdevelopment are two sides of the same coin. All nations of the Western world were engaged in a vast process of development; however, it was interdependent and unequal, organized in such a way that the benefits flowed to the already developed countries of the "center" and the disadvantages were meted out to the historically backward and underdeveloped countries of the "periphery." The poverty of Third World countries was the price to be paid for the First World to be able to enjoy the fruits of overabundance (Boff and Boff, p. 68).
In church circles by now accustomed to following developments in society and studies of its problems, this interpretation acted as a leaven, yielding a new vitality and critical spirit in pastoral circles. The relationship of dependence of the periphery on the center had to be replaced by a process of breaking away and liberation. So the basis of a theology of development was undermined and the theoretical foundations for a theology of liberation were laid. Its material foundations were provided only when popular movements and Christian groups came together in the struggle for social and political liberation, with the ultimate aim of complete and integral liberation. This was when the objective conditions for an authentic liberation theology came about (Boff and Boff, p.68).
C. Theological Development
The first theological reflections that were to lead to Liberation Theology had their origins in a context of dialogue between a church and a society in ferment, between Christian faith and the longings for transformation and liberation arising from the people. The Second Vatican Council produced a theological atmosphere characterized by great freedom and creativity. This gave Latin American theologians the courage to think for themselves about pastoral problems facing their countries. This process could be seen at work, among both Catholic and Protestant thinkers with the group known as Church and Society in Latin America (Iglesia y Sociedad en America Latina) taking a prominent part. There were frequent meetings between Catholic theologians such as Gustavo Gutierrez, Segundo Galilea, Juan Luis Segundo, and Protestant theologians such as Emilio Castro, Rubem Alves, and Jose Miguez Bonino. These meetings were focused on intensified reflections on the relationship between faith and poverty, the Gospel and social justice, and the like. In Brazil, between 1959 and 1964, the Catholic left produced a series of basic texts on the need for a Christian ideal of history, linked to popular action, with a methodology that foreshadowed that of Liberation Theology. They urged personal engagement in the world, backed up by studies of social and liberal sciences, and illustrated by the universal principles of Christianity (Boff and Boff, p.69).
At a meeting of Latin American theologians held in Petropolis (Rio de Janeiro) in March 1964, Gustavo Gutierrez described theology as "critical reflection on praxis." This line of thought was further developed at meetings in Havana, Bogota, and Cuernavaca in June and July 1965. Many other meetings were held as part of the preparatory for the Medellin conference of 1068; these acted as laboratories for a theology worked out on the basis of pastoral concerns and committed Christian action. Lectures given by Gustavo Gutierrez in Montreal in 1967 and at Chimbote in Peru on the poverty of the Third World and the challenge it posed to the development of a pastoral strategy of liberation were a further powerful impetus toward a theology of liberation. Its outlines were first put forward at the theological congress at Cartigny, Switzerland, in 1969: "Toward a Theology of Liberation" (Boff and Boff, 69).
The first Catholic congresses devoted to Liberation Theology were held in Bogota in March 1970 and July 1971. On the Protestant side, Church and Society organized something similar in Buenos Aires the same years (Boff and Boff, p.70).
Finally, in December 1971, Gustavo Gutierrez published his seminal work, Teologia de la Liberacion. In May, Hugo Assmann had conducted a symposium, "Oppression-Liberation: The Challenge to Christians," in Montevideo. Leonardo Boff had published a series of articles under the title "Jesus Cristo Libertador." The door was opened for the development of a theology from the periphery dealing with the concerns of this periphery, concerns that presented and still present an immense challenge to the evangelizing mission of the Church (Boff and Boff, p. 70).
2. Liberation Theology Defined
We might ask, "What is Liberation Theology?' I can best answer that question by stating that there is no one "Liberation Theology." By this I mean that LT is not a single school of thought. Rosino Gibellini says: "Liberation Theology is a richly variegated affair, in both its motifs and in the personalities involved (Rosino Gibellini, ed. Frontiers of Theology in Latin America. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1979, p.x). As I point out in my doctoral dissertation, one will find diversity of thinking and methodology in Liberation Theology ( Juan A. Carmona. The Liberation of Puerto Rico: A Theological Perspective. Rochester: Colgate Rochester Divinity School, 1982, p. 36). I would venture to say that there is as much diversity in LT as there is in European theology. I would qualify that by saying that in spite of the diversity which may exist in LT, there seems to be an underlying unity in this trend of thought (Carmona, p. 36).
Gustavo Gutierrez says: "The theology of liberation offers us not so much a new theme for reflection as a new way to do theology. Theology as critical reflection on historical praxis is a liberating theology, a theology of the liberating transformation of the history of humankind-gathered into ecclesia- which openly confesses Christ. This is a theology which does not stop reflecting on the world, but rather tries to be a part of the process through which the world is transformed. It is a theology which is open-in the protest against trampled human dignity, in the struggle against the plunder of the vast majority of people, in liberating love, and in the building of a new, just, and fraternal society-to the gift of the kingdom of God (Gustavo Gutierrez. A Theology of Liberation. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1973, p. x). Here, Gutierrez is making a direct link between theology as reflection and the historical process of transformation. Liberation Theology, according to Gutierrez, would be the application of the study about God to the world of concrete historical happenings. As a critical reflection, Liberation Theology leads to self-reflection and to a critique of both church and society (Carmona, p. 37).
Hugo Assmann states: Theology is an understanding of the faith and a re-reading of the Word as it is lived in the Christian community. More than anything, it has to do with the communication of faith and proclamation of the good news, which is that the Father loves all humans. To evangelize is to witness to that love; to say that it has been reviewed to us was made flesh in Christ ( Hugo Assmann, Practical Theology of Liberation. London: Search Press, 1975, p.5).
I would rephrase Assmann's statement by saying that LT is an understanding of the faith and a re-reading of the Word as it is lived in Latin America. Why do we see this type of theological reflection taking place in Latin America today? Assmann answers, This theological reflection is impelled by a desire to speak the Word of the Lord to all persons from the position of solidarity (Assmann, p.6). In Assmann's view, LT is an attempt to bring the Word of God to the world. This proclamation would be carried out from the standpoint of taking sides with the poor and oppressed of this world. Assmann is careful to point out that the type of Christian experience determines the from that theology takes at different moments in history. Nevertheless, as he describes it, theology is a "task for all times (Assmann, p.5)."
Ester and Mortimer Arias describe Liberation Theology as "the result of a new reading of the Scriptures in a particular historical situation. The experience of the Exodus became the key to a new perception of the Gospel ( Ester and Mortimer Arias, The Cry of My People, New York: Friendship Press, 1980, p. 127). Taking the Exodus story as a model for liberation, LT is a participation in that story. To the Ariases, LT is not a mere retelling of the past, but rather the incorporation of past events into present history (Carmona, p. 38).
Jose Miguez Bonino defines LT as "a question addressed to the Christian obedience of our brothers and sisters in Christ elsewhere-a question , though, that only they can answer (Jose Miguez Bonino, Doing Theology in a Revolutionary Situation, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1975, p.xx)."
As we have seen, Liberation Theology is not confined or restricted to one definition . There are a variety of definitions, depending on the angle that each LT theologian is coming from, and the approach that each one uses to apply LT to reality.
I invite you, the reader, to review this essay, and make comments of your own. Your contributions are important and valuable.
Grace and peace,
Dr. Juan A. Ayala-Carmona
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