Theology for the Puerto Rican Diaspora

I have stated in previous writings that there is as much diversity in Liberation Theology as there is in classical Western theology.  Liberation Theology is not monolithic by any stretch of the imagination. Those who undertake a rigorous and serious reading of Liberation Theology will discover that:

1. All Liberation theologians believe that theology should emerge from the "bottom up" rather than from the "top down." In other words, theology should emerge from whose who are alienated, marginalized, and powerless, not from those who are in positions of authority and power.

2.  All Liberation theologians believe that those who are in a condition or position of powerlessness and subjugation, are in a privileged position to receive and understand God's revelatory acts in history.

3.  All Liberation theologians believe that oppression and suffering should be the starting points for biblical interpretation and theological reflection.

This Puerto Rican minister/theologian and writer subscribes to the three principles listed above.  While Liberation Theology was initially intended to address the issues of social class and political conditions in Latin America, it has taken on a life of its own in the U.S.A. in which we deal with additional issues of race and gender.  Readers are encouraged to search out writings of Liberation Theology relative to issues of race and feminism.

Although Liberation Theology emerged within a Christian context, it offers a message of hope for the Puerto Rican Diaspora, regardless of the variety of religious practices within our community.  It does not seek to demonize any particular religious expression, but rather to identify the liberating elements in all religions and to establish ties of solidarity with all those individuals and social entities whose goal is to dismantle structures of injustice and work for the construction of the Beloved Community.  As a Puerto Rican Liberation theologian who believes that Jesus of Nazareth is the main agent in God's liberating and redemptive activity, I also believe that Jesus is the "Cosmic Christ," who is not only the "Christ of Christians," but of all those who are oppressed and seek to work for the benefit of all humankind, regardless of religious affiliations or labels.  Our Puerto Rican sisters and brothers in the Diaspora, as descendants of our colonized parents, and as people who have been treated as second-class citizens in the U.S.A., have in Liberation Theology the call and hope for a society of full equality, justice, and peace.

To God in Christ be the glory!  In the Name of the Creator, and of the Redeemer, and of the Sustainer. Amen!

Dr. Juan A.Carmona
Past Professor of Theology
Tainan Theological College/Seminary