2.0 Liberation Theology Flashcards
what is Marx’s principle of praxis?
- understanding a situation and then bringing about change in it
- moves from theory to action
what did Marx believe about religion?
- religion is used as a tool to keep workers in bad conditions with the promise of a better future in the afterlife
- belief in god has brainwashed people into thinking that He is the cause behind change in the world not physical processes
- religion tells people that some were born to rule over others but everything will be equalised in the afterlife
what is Marx’s quote on religion
‘religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opiate of the people’
what was Marx’s solution?
- praxis
- an uprising would need to take place to install communism as the right way for society to exist and to reject the capitalist machine
how does Latin America link to liberation theology?
- the very uprising that Marx said was required seemed to be taking place in Latin America in the 1970s
- the country was and is also very Catholic and saw a perfect combination of the two ideas
who is Gutierrez and what does he believe?
- a central figure in the foundation of liberation theology and a Peruvian Catholic theologian
- the structural inequality of society leads to structural sin which is deeper than individual sin as every member of society is alienated
- capitalism has not worked and praxis is required to change these structures, with socialism being the best of the current alternatives
- first the human made problem of poverty must be solved, liberation from stuctural sin
- then people must be liberated from personal sin
what is the idea of reversal and where does it appear in the Bible?
- the idea that justice in the kingdom of God is about reversing the opportunities of those on earth e.g. the poor shall become rich
- it is particularly found in Luke’s gospel
- theology starts owith the earth and people not with doctrine or God
- the poor become drivers for action
what is the hermeneutic of suspicion?
- the process of interpreting the Bible (hermeneutics) by asking questions that have not been asked before to challenge traditional or official interpretations
- in the context of liberation theology its focus is on economic motivations
how is the hermeneutic of suspicion considered useful in liberation theology?
- as a way of interpreting the bible it places a Marxist reading on texts and applies them to the needs of an alienated society
- the effect of this can be seen in 1979 when a meeting of latin american bishops said that structural sin needs to be challenged by the church as much as individual sin and the church must not mirror the oppressive bourgeoisie
what is the idea of preferential option for the poor?
- the idea that the needs of the poor must be prioritised at all times
- the phrase implies that Christians must give priority to the poor and act in solidarity with them
what is orthopraxis versus orthodoxy
orthopraxis is right actions, orthodoxy is right belief/the offical beliefs of the church
what is a liberation theologians approach to orthopraxis vs orthodoxy?
- it places orthopraxis before orthodoxy
- this places feeding the hungry before making them believe in key aspects of the faith or before being obedient to the rules of the church
- orthopraxis starts with living among the poor in solidarity, visiting and caring for them as much as teaching them
what is the argument that liberation theology should use violence?
- structural sin needs to be removed and this cannot be done through any other means than the violent uprising that Marx talked of, the systems are otherwise too oppressive
- Camilo Torres Restrepo joined the Catholic National Liberation Army and was killed in action standing up for the oppressed
what is the argument that liberation theology should not use violence?
- the idea of a violent uprising seems quite an Old Testament approach such as in Exodus when the Israelites flee the Egyptians and many of them are killed
- the Messiah was expected to be a warrior king who would revolt against the Romans but he was a pacificist who lived under their system without ever trying to uphaul it
- papal responses seem to support this
what is the papal response to liberation theology?
- pope john paul ii: endorsed the phrase ‘preferential option for the poor’ but also emphasised spiritual poverty alongside material poverty’
- pope francis: he comes from Latin America and has endorsed much of liberation theology but still distanced himself from the Marxist aspect of it. he himself lives a simple life and criticises capitalism. in 2015 he named oscar romero, the archbishop of san salvador who was killed as a liberation theologian, a martyr of the church
