THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF LIBERATION THEOLOGY

Many people who are vaguely familiar with Liberation Theology are of the opinion that it is a mindset which began in the Roman Catholic Church in the 1960's.  It is precisely because of this unfounded assumption, and also the belief that anything emerging from the Catholic Church is erroneous, that many people reject it outright without examining it.  

Here I begin by speaking of the historical roots of Liberation Theology.  As pointed out in the first essay, Liberation Theology, in a very historical and technical sense, began when Yahweh, the God of Israel, spoke to Moses and said to him, "I have heard the cry of my people."  It was during this time that Yahweh, through Moses, initiated the process of liberating the Hebrew people from the physical bondage of slavery in Egypt, that the Hebrews began to engage in "god-talk."  Their theology emerged out of their oppression and suffering, and out of God's liberating and salvific acts in their history.  Their theology was not generated by philosophical speculation, nor by ivory tower conversations.  They did not have the luxury of engaging in intellectual discourse.  Nor were they in any condition to construct a theology which had nothing to do with the reality of life.  Their theology was birthed by their agony and misery, and by Yahweh empathizing with them, and acting to deliver them from those conditions.

THE DEVELOPMENT AND EMERGENCE OF LATIN AMERICAN LIBERATION THEOLOGY

As stated earlier, one must evaluate theology within its historical context.  Latin American Liberation Theology did not emerge in a historical vacuum, but within the context of economic, political, religious, and social relations.  To overlook this would be to relegate theology to a set of abstractions that have no relevance to human activity and history

Leonardo Boff, a leading spokesperson for Liberation Theology, and his brother Clodovis Boff, place Liberation Theology with the framework of Latin American history in their book, "Introducing Liberation Theology," Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books 1987.  At the time of the writing of this book, Leonardo Boff was a Franciscan priest who had been educated in Brazil and Germany.  Clodovis Boff, was a Servite priest and a professor at the Catholic University of São Paulo.  Leonardo Boff is the author off Ecclesiogeneis, Jesus Christ Liberator, and Liberating Grace.  Clodovis Boff is the author of Theology and Praxis, and together with Leonardo Boff, Salvation and Liberation.  

SOCIAL AND POLlTICAL DEVELOPMENT

The populist governments of the 1950's and 1960's-especially those of Peron in Argentina, Vargas in Brazil, and Cardenas in Mexico -inspired nationalistic consciousness and significant industrial development in the shape of import substitution.  This benefitted the middle class and urban proletariat, but threw huge sectors of the peasantry into deeper rural marginalization and 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 structures 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.  

In this context, the socialist revolution in Cuba stood out as an alternative leading to the dissolution of the chief cause of underdevelopment: dependence.  Pockets of armed uprising appeared in many countries, aimed a overt growing 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).

ECCLESIAL DEVELOPMENTS

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 them poor, charismatic bishops and priests encouraged the calls for progress and modernization.  Various church organization promoted understanding of and improvements in the living conditions of the people:movements such as Young Christian Students, Young Christian Workers, Young Christian Agriculturalists, the Movement for Basic Education, groups that set up educational radio programs, and the first base ecclesial communities.  

The work of these-generally middle-class Christian-was sustained theologically by the European theology of earthly realities, the integral humanism of Jacques Maritain, the social personalism of Mounier, the progressive evolutionism of Teilhard de Chardin, Henri de Lubac's reflections on the social meaning of dogma, Yves Congar's theology of the laity, and the work of M.D. Chenu.  The Second Vatican Council then gave the best possible theoretical justification  to activities developed under the signs of a theology of progress, of authentic secularization, and human advancement.

The end of the 1960's with the crisis of populism and the developmentalist model, brought about the advent of a rigorous current of sociological thinking, which unmasked the true causes of undervdevelopment.  Development and underdevelopment are two sides of the same coin.  All nations of the Western world are 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 disadvantaged  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.  

In ecclesial circles by now accustomed to following developments in society and studies of its problem, this interpretation acted as leaven, yielding a new vitality and critical spirit in pastoral circles.  The relationship of dependence on 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 were laid.  Its material foundations were provided only when popular movements and Christian groups came together in the struggle for political and social liberation, with the ultimate aim of complete and integral liberation.  This was when the objective conditions for an authentic liberation theology came about (Ibid., p. 68).

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 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 affecting their countries.  This process could be seen at work among both Catholic and Protestant thinkers within the group Church and Society in Latin America (Iglesia y Sociedad in la America Latina) taking a prominent part.  There were frequent meetings between Catholic theologians (Gustavo Gutierrez, Segundo Galilea, Juan Luis Segundo, Lucio Gera and others) and Protestant theologians (Emilio Castro, Julio de Santa Ana, Rubem Alves, Jose Miguez Bonino) leading to intensified reflection 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 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 (Ibid, p. 69).  

At a meeting of Latin American theologians held in Petropolis (Rio de Janiero) 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 work for the Medellin conference of 1968.  These acted as laboratories for a theology worked out on the basis of pastoral concerns and committed Christian action.  Lectures given by Gutierrez in Montreal in 1967 and at Chimobote 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 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 (Ibid., p. 70).

The first Catholic congresses devoted to Liberation Theology were held in Bogota in March of 1970 and July 1971.  On the Protestant side, Iglesia y Sociedad en la America Latina (ISAL) organized something similar in Buenos Aires the same years (Ibid.).

Finally, in December 1971, Gustavo Gutierrez published his seminal work, Teologia de la Liberation.  In May, Hugo Assmann had conducted a symposium, "Oppression-Liberation: The Challenge to Christians" in Montevideo, and 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 (Ibid.).

Leonardo and Clodovis Boff propose dividing the formulation of Liberation Theology into four stages.  They are the following:

1.  The Foundational Stage

The foundations were laid by those who sketched the general outlines of this way doing theology.  Besides the all-important writings of Gustavo Gutierrez, outstanding works were produced by Juan Luis Segundo: De la Sociedad a la Teologia (1970), Liberacion de la Teologia (1975), Hugo Assmann: Teologia Desde la Praxis de la Liberacion (1973), Lucio Gera: Apuntes Para Una Interpretacion de la Iglesia en Argentina (1970), Teologia de la Liberacion (1973),  Others who should be mentioned are Bishop (later Cardinal) Eduardo Pironio, Secretary of CELAM, Segundo Galilea, and Raimundo Caramuru, principal theological consultant to the Brazilian Bishop's Conference.  There was a great ferment of activities in the shape of courses and retreats during this period (Ibid. p, 71).

On the Protestant side, besides Emilio Castro and Julio de Santa Ana, the outstanding contributions were made by Rubem Alves:Religion, Opium of the People or Instrument of Liberation (1969), and Jose Miguez Bonino:La Fe en Busca de Eficacia (1967), and Doing Theology in a Revolutionary Situation (1975). 

Lay persons such as Hector Borrat, Methol Ferre, and Luis Alberto Gomez de Souza did valuable work in linking theology with the social sciences, as did the Belgian priest Francois Houtart, and the Chilean G. Arroyo (Ibid.).

2.  The Building Stage

The first stage was characterized by the presentation of Liberation Theology as a sort of "fundamental theology"-that is, an opening up of new horizons and perspectives that give a new outlook on the whole of theology.  The second stage moved on to the first efforts at giving the liberation approach doctrinal content. Three areas received most attention as corresponding to the most urgent needs in the life of the Church:spirituality, Christology, and ecclesiology.  There was a wide range of publications from many Latin American countries.  The main writers were: Enrique Dussell, Juan Carlos Scannone, Severino Croat, and Aldo Buntig in Argentina, Joao Batista Libanio, Frei Bretto, Carlos Masters, Eduardo Hoornaert, Jose Oscar Beozzo, Gilberto Gorgulho, Carlos Palacio, and Leonardo Boff in Brazil, Ronaldo Munoz, Sergio Torres, and Pablo Richard in Chile, Raul Valdes, Luis die Valle, Arnaldo Zenteno, Camilo maccise, and Jesus Garcia in Mexico, Ignacio Ellacurria, Jon Sobrino, Juan Pico, and Uriel Molina in Central America, Pedro Trigo and Otto Maduro in Venezuela, Luis Patino and Cecilio de Lorra in Colombia (Ibid.).  

3.  The Setting-in Stage

With the process of theological reflection well-advanced the need was seen for a dual process of "setting in" if the theology of liberation was to become firmly established.  On the one hand was the understanding that the theological current needed to be given a firm epistemological basis: how to avoid duplications and confusion of language and levels, while giving coherent expression to the themes arising from original spiritual experience, taking in the analytical stage, moving on to the theological judging stage, and so to the pastoral action stage.  Good liberation theology presupposes  the art of linking it's theories with the explicit inclusion of practice; in this area, Liberation Theology found fruitful collaborators, not only for its own purposes, but for those of the overall theological process.  On the other hand, the "setting in" process was effectively achieved through the deliberate mingling of theologians and other intellectuals in popular circles and processes of liberation (Ibid., p. 72). 

More and more theologians became pastors too, militant agents of inspiration for the life of the Church at its grass roots and those of society.  It became usual to see theologians taking part in involved epistemological discussions in learned congresses, then leaving back to their  bases among the people to become involved in matters of catechesis, trade union politics, and community organization. Some of the names are Antonio A. da Silva, Rogerio de Almedida Cunha, and Clodovis Boff from Brazil, Elsa Tamez and Victorio Araya from Costa Rica, Virgilio Elisondo from Texas, and P. Laennec from Haiti (Ibid.).

4.  The Formalization Stage 

Any original theological vision tends, with the passage of time, and through its own internal logic, to seek more formal expression.  Liberation Theology always set out to reexamine the whole basic content of revelation and tradition so as to bring out the social and liberating dimensions implicit in both sources.  Again, this is not a matter of reducing the totality of mystery to this one dimension, but of underlying aspects of a greater truth particularly relevant to our context of oppression and liberation (Ibid., p. 73).

Such a formalization also corresponds to pastoral requirements.  The last few years have seen a great extension of situations in which the Church has become involved with the oppressed, with a very large number of pastoral workers involved.  Many movements have come into being under the tutelage, to a large extent, of Liberation Theology.  In Brazil alone, there are movements or centers for black unity and conscientization, human rights, defense of slum-dwellers, marginalized women, mission to Amerindians, rural pastoral strategy, and so forth-all concerned in one way or another with the poorest of the poor seeking liberation (Ibid.).  

I hope that this presentation of the historical development of Liberation Theology in Latin America has helped to clarify and elucidate issues related to its origins.  I end by saying that all theology, whether it be Liberation Theology or other, has to be contextualized within the framework of history.  In this way, we can be in a better position to critique and evaluate its relevance or non-relevance to the world that we live in.  

Dr. Juan A. Carmona