The Study of Liberation Theology: What Next?

Abstract

In 1971, Gustavo Gutierrez published his Teologia de la liberaci6n, which was translated into English two years later. The publication of this book marked the birth of the liberation theology movement (albeit one that had been gestating for a decade or more). While many of Gutierrez's ideas were formulated in his time abroad in Europe, and based on lessons from Vatican II, his tome spoke to the reality of Latin American life. His humble upbringing and steadfast commitment to minister to the poor gave him the basis to create Latin America's first indigenous theology. The book was grand in scope, tackling not only important theological issues, but incorporating modern social scientific theories and methodologies to produce a spiritual philosophy grounded in praxis (i.e., day-to-day practice). His words rang loudly throughout the Western hemisphere and created one of the most dynamic grassroots movements the Catholic Church had seen in quite some time. Throughout the 1970s and into the early 1980s, liberation theology promised to reinvigorate a Catholicism grown ritualistic and moribund over the centuries. While earlier movements had attempted to do the same (e.g., Catholic Action), these were usually controlled by the hierarchy. Liberation theology, and the associated Christian base community movement, offered a more democratic version of Catholic revivalism. Not surprisingly, scholars quickly ran to study this surprising new phenomenon. Prior to the 1 970s, the reigning notion of religion in academia was one of conservatism and declining influence, the fruits of the inevitable process of secularization. Now the role of religion in politics and society had to be rethought. Far from being inimical to progressive ideas, this new theology often showed itself in alliance with revolutionary movements throughout the region. Scholarship on revolutionary movements in Latin America could hardly be done without considering the role that liberation theology was playing-either by providing a new philosophical foundation from which to launch an assault on the ancien regime, or by filling the ranks of revolutionary groups with clergy and lay Catholics. Scholarship on Latin American religion witnessed a golden age during this period. But the liberation theology movement was not easily confined to Latin America. As the articles by Mitchell, Nadeau, and Poethig reveal, liberationist ideas quickly found homes in Asia and Africa. And while the ideas advanced by Gutierrez and his followers seemed best suited for the world, a receptive audience awaited them in the United States and Europe as well. Liberation theology quickly became cosmopolitan. It has now been more than a quarter century since a Teologia de la liberacion was published. Looking back, it is easy to conclude that the movement this book spawned has yet to live up to its great expectations. The mid-1980s witnessed a concerted attempt by the Vatican to reign in some of the more outspoken liberationists, especially those challenging authoritative relations within the Catholic hierarchy. John Paul II distanced himself from the Sandinista regime in Nicaragua, which had claimed to be influenced strongly by liberation theology, and publicly chastised high-profile clergy participating in this government. It also became apparent by the late 1 980s that many of the grassroots organizations inspired by liberation theology the Christian base communities did not multiply at the expected rate (see Daudelin and Hewitt 1995).1 The decline of the Soviet model of development and an inability to clearly articulate a third way also slowed liberation theology's momentum. Finally, by 1990 it had become apparent to