Liberation Theology Flashcards
Liberation theology specification
Marx teaching on alienation and exploitation
Marx to analyse social sin
Preferential option for the poor
Matthew 25:46
Jesus said, anything you did for one of the least important of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me
What does the parable of the sheep and the goats make clear
Christians need to see Jesus in the poor and this be motivated to help them
Religion is the…
Opium of the people
- Marx
Two objects in Marx’s life
Dethrone God
Destroy capitalism
First requisite for the people’s happiness is the…
Abolition of religion
- Marx
What is a capitalist state
Class divisions
Means of production Privately owned
Production operated by profit
What is a socialist state (BEST FOR LT)
Limited class divisions
Means of production is communally owned and regulate many democratic government
Production operated for societal needs
What is a communist state (USED BY MARX)
No class divisions
Means of production controlled by the state
Production operated for basic needs
Typically obtained in force
What aspects of Marx does LT use
Theories of alienation and exploitation as a tool for understanding poverty
What was Marx’s aim
A classless society and a communist state
Includes abolishing the religious institutions and capitalism
What is historical materialism
The material or physical conditions of all processes in the world, which develop through a process of conflict, then harmony, then conflict
What is Praxis
Action
What do liberation theologians think about Praxis
Theology had become too abstract. The point is to change the world, not just think about it
When does alienation occur
When humans are dehumanised and unable to live fulfilling lives
When does exploitation occur
When humans are treated as objects and a means to an end
Examples of alienation and exploitation
Production line: takes away creativity
Private ownership: makes people think others can be used
What was Marx’s reasoning for viewing belief in God as a cause of alienation and exploitation
1) rejected God being a driving force of history
2) gave power to the state of ruling group to control the population
What does it mean that the proletariat are in a state of false consciousness
Unaware of the ways they were being exploited and alienated
How is religion a form of false consciousness
Gives false hope and brainwashed us into being okay with suffering
Three ways religion is a form of false consciousness
1) glorifies suffering (pick up your cross)
2) afterlife (accept earthly injustice)
3) divine right to rule (causes inequality)
How is capitalism a form of alienation and exploitation
Competitive nature makes harmonious life impossible
What part of Marx’s theories does Liberation theology ignore
Views on religion
‘Liberation theology used Marxism purely as an…
Instrument
When I feed the poor,
They call me a saint’
But when I ask why the poor are hungry, they call me a communist
- Archbishop Camara
Class divide in Latin America in the 60s caused
High infant mortality
Government corruption
Slums
Gangs
What was the ideological battle of the 60/70s
Capitalism vs communism
Where did LT notably gain lots of support
El Salvador
Who was Archbishop Oscar Romero
Archbishop of El Salvador and made a saint in 2018
What did Oscar Romero do
Stood up for the rights of the poor, leading to his assassination in 1980, shot dead whilst celebrating mass
When else did standing for LT push to killings
1989, Salvadoran army murdered six Jesuit Priests and their housekeeper and daughter
What is Liberation Theology
Emerged in Latin America in response to the oppression of the poor from government corruption
What is Liberation Theology
Emerged in Latin America in response to the oppression of the poor from government corruption
Who founded LT
Catholics Priest, Gustavo Gutierrez
What does LT advocate
Social Justice
Right actions over right beliefs
Needs of the poor prioritised
What does LT advocate
Social Justice
Right actions over right beliefs
Needs of the poor prioritised
What is orthodoxy and orthopraxis
Right belief and right action
What quote speaks to the transformation of society
The kingdom of God is among you
Luke 17:21
Why does LT use Marxist analysis
Christian’s Theology can’t analyse sources of injustice
What causes the opposition to LT
Marxism is critical of religion
What is the hermeneutic of suspicion
Questioning the original/ traditional interpretations of the Bible
What does the hermeneutic of suspicion involve in LT
A Marxist reading
What does Alistair Kee think of LT using Marxism
The failure of LT arises not from too much attention to Marx’s social analysis, but from too little attention to his criticism of religion
What happened to Catholic Colombian Priest, Camilo Torres Restrepo
A proponent of LT, joined the National Liberation Army to fight for oppression. Killed in action
What is social sin/structural sin
Injustices in our institutions and social structures, it exacerbates dehumanisation and is made worse by those who allow structures in society
What three structures in society exacerbate social sin
Government
Schools
Churches
Capitalism
What does LT feel about the Church
Focuses too much on orthodoxy at the expense of orthopraxis, not doing enough to to challenge oppression
What are the two types of liberation needed to rebuild our relationship with God
Social - freedom of social sin
Spiritual - freedom of personal sin
What is a preferential option for the poor
Christian’s duty to positively discriminate in favour of the poor
AIMED FOR those with privilege
What is important in preferential treatment being an option
Solidarity is a free act so the church becomes radically egalitarian
What are Christian base communities in Latin America
Emphasise the importance of orthopraxis over orthodoxy. Provide food, shelter, and pastoral care and teach basic Christian beliefs
Boff brother’s five motivations that justify the preferential option for the poor
Eschatological
Apostolic
Ecclesiastical
Theological
Christological
What is eschatological motivation
Parable of the sheep and the goats (God will judge based on whether a person has sided with the poor)
What is apostolic motivation
After Jesus’ death, first apostles raised a general levy to raise money to help the poor
What is Christological motivation
Jesus sided with the poor and acts in solidarity with those marginalised by society
What is ecclesiological motivation
All Christians should seek the transformation of society as a matter of faith
What is theological motivation
God is a ‘living God’ who is immanent in the world and seeks justice, as we must
The kingdom of God is…
Among you
- Luke 17:21
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle….
Than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven
- Matthew 19:24
Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine…
You did for me
- parable of the sheep and the goats
What quote sums up orthopraxis as to feeding the poor
Bread before theology
What is First Act Praxis
Pre-theological
Experiencing poverty and identifying what needs to change
Grounded in theological motivations
What is second act praxis
Judging what the word of God has to say about what has been observed the acting to bring about change
What are the three mediations
Seeing, Judging, Acting
How to move from first act to second act praxis
What is seeing (socio-analytic mediation)
Using Marx’s theories of A&E to analyse society
What is judging (hermeneutic mediation)
Judging how to change society using the Bible, including applying a Marxist lens
What is acting (practical mediation)
Doing something practical to bring about change
Large discussion point about first mediation
First is the only important one. In changing poverty the only important thing is analysis, not biblical reading. But if the second is removed it is NOT CHRISTIAN
What is the Catholic Church stance on LT
Always praised the concern for the poor but criticised
Use of Marxism
Emphasis on material poverty
It’s criticism of the Church
Jean Paul II on LT
Unsympathetic to Lt likely from Marxist influences (lived through communist takeover of Poland)
Benedict XVI on LT
Write numerous articles opposing LT in the 1980s
Francis on LT
Sympathetic to some aspects, met Gutierrez at the Vatican.
Took on the name Francis to symbolise commitment to the poor and the first from south America
Francis on LT
Sympathetic to some aspects, met Gutierrez at the Vatican.
Took on the name Francis to symbolise commitment to the poor and the first from south America
Joseph Ratzinger’s (Benedict XVI) criticisms of LT: ‘seem to put liberation from sin in second place’
Emphasis on material world rather than spiritual
Joseph Ratzinger’s (Benedict XVI) criticisms of LT: ‘suffering is not purely and simply equated with the social condition of poverty’
Disregards other forms of suffering
Joseph Ratzinger’s (Benedict XVI) criticisms of LT: ‘first the bread, then the word of the Lord. It is a fatal error to separate the two and even worse to oppose the one to the other’
Action before theology is reductionist of the truth of the Bible
The Catholic Church now
Has grown less opposed to LT
Named Oscar Romero a saint
Gutierrez invited to the Vatican in 2013
