Liberation Theology Movement Research Articles

‘Stand Against the Wiles of the Devil’: Interpreting QAnon as a Pseudo-Christian Extremist Movement

The religious dimensions of the QAnon movement and links with political violence have been noted by researchers. This paper furthers this scholarship by conducting an analysis of 121 religious images taken from QAnon Telegram channels over 18 months. Through adopting semiotic and hermeneutical theory, it is argued that QAnon religious imagery can be categorised into a series of types, all influenced by Christian theological themes. When interpreted in a Christian context, these images reveal a close relationship with US-based Christian evangelicalism and with Christian liberation theology movements. By presenting contemporary politics as an eschatological battle between the oppressed and oppressors, framed as the QAnon community versus the devil, the QAnon movement encourages political activism closely analogous to Christian liberation theology movements. This contributes to an explanatory framework for the connections between QAnon followers and anti-government protest and violence during the Covid-19 pandemic and the 6 January storming of the US Capitol.

The Solved Conflict: Pope Francis and Liberation Theology

The battle for meaning and influence between Latin American liberations theologians and the Vatican was one of the most significant conflicts in the global Catholic church of the twentieth century. With the election of the Argentinean Jorge Mario Bergoglio as head of the global church in 2013, the question about the legacy of liberation theology was actualized. The canonization of Archbishop Oscar Romero and the pope’s approximation to the public figure of Gustavo Gutiérrez signaled a new approach to the liberation theology movement in the Vatican. This article argues that Pope Francis shares some of the main theological concerns as pontiff with liberation theology. Although the pope remains an outsider to liberation theology, he has in a sense solved the conflict between the Vatican and the Latin American social movement. Through an analysis of ecclesial documents and theological literature, his can be discerned on three levels. First, Pope Francis’ use of certain theological ideas from liberation theology has been made possible and less controversial by post-cold war contexts. Second, Pope Francis has contributed to the solution of this conflict through significant symbolic gestures rather than through a shift of official positions. Third, as Pope Francis, the Argentinian Jorge Mario Bergoglio has appropriated certain elements that are specific to liberation theology without acknowledging his intellectual debt to it.

A Study on the Liberation Theology Movement: The Case of Latin America

Katolik Hıristiyanlığın hakim olduğu Latin Amerika kıtasında 1960’lı yıllarda insanların sosyo-ekonomik haklarını savunan Kurtuluş Teolojisi (Liberation Theology) hareketi ortaya çıkmıştır. Söz konusu teoloji, manevi kurtuluştan (salvation) çok dünyevi kurtuluşu (sosyal ve ekonomik) hedeflemesi açısından Roma Katolik Kilisesi’nden farklılaşmaktadır. Aynı zamanda Latin Amerika kıtasındaki bu hareket; yoksulların, fakirlerin, işsizlerin, topraksız çiftçilerin ve şehirlerdeki gecekondu mahallelerinde unutulan Hıristiyanların bir isyanıdır. Bu isyan hareketini teologlar ve din adamları destekleyerek Marksist ideolojide yer alan “praxis” (eylem/uygulama) kavramını ön plana çıkarmışlardır. Bu kavram doğrultusunda yerel kiliseler içerisinde “Taban Cemaatleri” kurulmuştur. Kurtuluş Teolojisi hareketi ortaya çıktığı günden bugüne kadar birçok değişime uğramıştır. Biz de bu çalışmamızda Kurtuluş Teolojisi adındaki halk hareketinin nasıl ortaya çıktığını, işlevini gerçekleştirirken nelere başvurduğunu, hangi aşamalardan geçtiğini ve bugün hangi konumda olduğunu ortaya koymaya çalıştık.

Melampaui Eksegesis dan Eisegesis: Tinjauan Kritis terhadap Hermeneutika Teologi Pembebasan

Liberation Theology as a movement and theological method has a unique hermeneutical approach. The way they study the Bible begins with studying their real life situations, then they identify the answers the Bible gives to their real problems. Interpreting the Bible starting from the context by some scholar was considered as an act of eisegesis, and not exegesis. Thus, this paper aims to review the hermeneutical approach used by Liberation Theology movement. This research is a qualitative research using descriptive-analytical method. Liberation Theology's hermeneutical approach is clearly outlined. Furthermore, the analysis of this approach is carried out by tracing its philosophical basis. In this way, one can judge the hermeneutics of Liberation Theology fairly and proportionally. The view being argued in this paper is that criticism of the hermeneutical approach of Liberation Theology is not properly positioned in the contradiction between exegesis and eisegesis, but it needs to be understood as beyond the contradiction. Although this approach starts its hermeneutic circle from context to text, that does not mean it cannot be justified. Pre-understanding before reading the text is raised clearly so that it can be spoken about with the intention of the text being read. It is in the process of dialoguing the context with the biblical text that the "meaning" is formed. The relationship between text and context is not understood as a linear one-way movement, but as an interconnected circle.

The Worker-Priest Archetype

The concept of the worker-priest archetype, in its most recent official form, originated in France's Roman Catholic Church as a missionary attempt to “rediscover the masses” of the industrial class workers in the French factories of the 1940s. This effort was shut down by the Vatican in the 1950s out of fear of Communist influence within the movement. With the advent of the Vatican II Council (1962–1965) of the Catholic Church, new life seemed to have been infused into this archetype. For example, the liberation theology movement in Latin America was strongly influenced by Vatican II. In the United States, many new forms of liturgical celebration were created, and social reform movements, doubtless as part of the 1960s social-revolutionary energy, emerged and were fostered. When the conservative faction within the Catholic hierarchy reacted to what they perceived as dangerous and threatening developments in the church, they acted to stop this liberal movement. One likely consequence of this slamming shut the windows that had been newly opened by Vatican II was a mass exodus of Catholic priests in the United States who left the clergy and entered civilian life. This article focuses on interviews with three of the men who were active Catholic priests, two of whom chose to leave the priesthood and one who remained a priest but moved the focus of his work to the “inner city.” There he cared for young black men as an unofficial social worker/priest, operating on his own to serve a population traditionally underserved by the Catholic Church.

The Position of the Biblical Canon in Brazil: From Catholic Rediscovery to Neo-Pentecostal Marginalisation

This study analyses the historically significant shifts in the diffusion and reception of the bible in Brazilian Christianity. It questions whether Brazil is turning Protestant, given the marginalisation in Brazilian neo-Pentecostalism of scripture, which is the fundamental pillar of Protestant faith. While scripture has traditionally been marginal to Brazil's popular Catholicism, it was regarded as the primary medium for access to the sacred in classical Pentecostalism. Whilst Brazilian Catholicism rediscovered the bible through the liberation theology movement, a contrary trend of marginalisation of scripture is evident in the Brazilian neo-Pentecostal church Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus (IURD). Although there is a performative use of the bible in IURD, the original meaning of the biblical texts is given little weight within this performance. Based on this evaluation of the bible's position, the article suggests that neo-Pentecostalism stands in continuity with popular Catholicism and discontinuity with classical Pentecostalism in relation to the biblical canon.

A left „theocracy“: The church and the state in revolutionary Nicaragua

This paper analyses the antagonism between the established (Nicaraguan and global) Catholic Church and the Sandinista movement and government, which was one of the focal points for the ascendancy of a continental and global liberation theology movement. The paper provides a critical overview of the Nicaraguan liberation theology movement, as well as Sandinista strategies, primarily in relation to the social functions of religion and religious institutions. The central focus of this essay is to identify how the left-theological and Sandinista understanding of the imperatives of the counter-hegemonic project, the ?historical bloc? (conceived as a system of political and social networks and alliances) and the ?national-popular? strategy contributed to the tentative naissance of a novel state religion and a novel political project: a left-wing ?theocratic? social order. The Nicaraguan experience is useful for focusing the wider discussion about the importance of context-specific normative judgments about Church-state relations.

Concealing God: How Argentine Women Political Prisoners Performed a Collective Identity

This essay analyzes the performance of a collective identity in a book by 120 Argentine women genocide survivors. Anticolonial, anti-imperialist, and rooted in the Liberation Theology movement, these prisoners resist destruction concealing religious practices. Through interviews with the authors, my interdisciplinary study shows how this collective identity, a response to psychological warfare, protects solidarity.

Black Liberation Theology and the Lynching of Jesus

Black Liberation Theology and the Lynching of Jesus

Alternative Foundations: A Dialogue With Modernity and the Papacy of Benedict XVI1

Throughout its history, the institution of the Catholic Church has been at odds with the social and political changes of modernity. However, many scholars claim that after Vatican II, the Church began to accept modernity's political regnancy, and subsequently embraced doctrines such as separation of Church and State and religious freedom. In fact, some scholars go so far as to claim that in recent decades, the Catholic Church has led political crusades that resulted in the political, economic, and social liberation of many, such as its spearhead movement against Communist countries and the liberation theology movements in Latin America. The purpose of this article is not only to examine such claims but to look more closely at the political implications of the thought of Pope Benedict XVI. I propose that Benedict XVI does not simply embrace modernity, but he challenges it from within and presents political society with an alternative foundation for political liberalism. To this effect, I examine the main tenets of his social thought, including his political anthropology and concept of personhood, his idea of secularity, and his understanding of the role of political institutions. I assess whether his ideas can be universally accepted by liberal, secular societies or whether the character of these ideas will appeal only to those who embrace Christianity.

The Catholic Church, moral education and citizenship in Latin America

The Catholic Church, with deep roots in the history of Latin America, exercises considerable influence on all levels of society. Especially after the Second Vatican Council and the bishops’ conference at Medellín (1968) the Church took up the banner of human rights and the cause of the poor. During the dictatorships and in the midst of the different guerrilla movements the Church became the principle voice of opposition and mediator between the parties in conflict. At the same time, the Church helped organise the poor in their own defence. The Base Ecclesial Communities, which spread from Brazil to the rest of Latin America, combined biblical awareness with social consciousness. Paulo Freire’s concept of ‘conscientisation’ complemented the liberation theology movement, which inspired Christians to mobilise against dictatorships and death squads from Central America to Chile. On a formal educational level, the Church runs private schools for the wealthy, the middle class and the poor. In some schools for the wealthy, such as those run by Opus Dei, a pre‐Vatican II mindset prevails and emphasis is placed on individual advancement. But in others, especially those run by the Jesuits, solidarity with the poor is emphasised. On the popular level, the Fe y Alegría schools for the poor stress civic participation and commitment to building the local community. The same divisions may be found in Catholic universities: some incorporate the ideals of social responsibility in their programs, but others simply foster an individualism that is more in tune with neo‐liberalism.

Women's rights in Peru: insights from two organizations

AbstractIn this article we explore the appropriation of ideas about women's rights in Lima, Peru through an ethnographic study of two non‐governmental organizations. SEA is a local NGO grounded in the Catholic Church's liberation theology movement, which seeks to promote integrated human development, and is linked to the worldwide Catholic Church. DEMUS, the second NGO, with feminist roots, actively fights gender discrimination and belongs to networks of international women's human rights movements and UN organizations. We argue that the struggle for women's rights is part of a broader struggle for recognition and equality for the poor, shaped by changing notions of national identity, citizenship and diversity. Our research revealed clear examples of vernacularization, whereby local context, values and culture played a decisive role in the adoption of women rights ideas. Encounters with other concepts and movements, including social justice, family violence and women's mobilization, intimately shaped the vernacularization of women's rights. Ultimately, the adoption of rights ideas involved changes in women's individual and collective empowerment.

The Study of Liberation Theology: What Next?

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

The Emergence of Liberation Theology: Radical Religion and Social Movement Theory

Liberation theology is a school of Roman Catholic thought which teaches that a primary duty of the church must be to promote social and economic justice. In this book, Christian Smith explains how and why the liberation theology movement emerged and succeeded when and where it did.

An Urgently Needed Dialogue

It is now more than three years since Monthly Review's 1984 summer issue presented the merits of the Liberation Theology movement to the Marxist left, and more than a year since the publication by MR Press of Churches in Struggle, edited by William Tabb, which expanded and updated this discussion. In addition, Johannes C.T. Kozyn's contribution in the Correspondence section of the November 1987 issue was particularly illuminating. It is in effect a concise three-page statement not only of the common objective, "the emancipation of oppressed people," of Liberation Theologians and Marxist leftists, but also something that goes even deeper, our common method of critical engagement, reflection, and praxis.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.