Marx And Liberation Theology Flashcards
WHAT IS LIBERATION THEOLOGY?
- Focuses first on orthopraxy (right practice) rather than orthodoxy (right belief)
- focuses on experiences of poor and sees Christianity as opportunity to respond to poverty and alienation
- Linked to Marx’s analysis of capitalism which creates a world in the hands of the few at the expense of the many
WHAT DOES LIBERATION THEOLOGY PROMOTE?
- Concept of the Kingdom of God as central to liberation theology
- The world made a new, not where you go when you die
- The coming of the Kingdom of God is something that must be hoped and worked for in this world
WHERE DID IT BEGIN?
- Theological movement that began 1964 when young Catholics met in Brazil and vowed to find the true Christina message in face of Latin American poverty
- Both and intellectual and practical movement
- 2 members let movement: Sebring and Gutierrez
JOHN SOBRINO
Freire
- Liberation theology drew on work of Freire who coined term ‘conscientisation’ - when person becomes aware of power structures in society
- For Freire education was not movement of knowledge from one person to next but about finding ways to transform society
GUTIERREZ
LIBERATION THEOLOGY HAPPENS IN 2 WAYS:
- Must be a social and economic liberation - poverty and oppression are cause by humans and can be alleviated by them, responsible
- People must be liberated from sin, reconciled with God and all of God’s brothers and sisters in Christ
MARX’S VIEWS ON CAPITALISM
- Capitalism (privately owned production for profit) changed relationship between people and production resulting in division between wealthy owners and workers
- workers can’t work independently of capitalism
- to work means part of capitalist machine
- work is a living death (factor system)
WHERE DOES MARXISM COME IN?
- The more humans have the power to control the world, the more they feel they are not in control
- marx’s writings often reflect these feelings:
- human activity is behind these experiences of powerlessness
- humans do not have a fixed nature but have to work to survive
- unlike animals we can develop new ways of doing things
HOW DID CAPITALISM HAPPEN?
-when humans see society reaches a point where it can create a surplus, it begins to fracture
-class divisions emerge
Evident through ownership of land - feudal lords, serfs
PROBLEMS WITH CAPITALISM
- Marx predicated class struggle to create a fairer society
- Capitalism means everyone seizes produce of others
- Our happiness comes at a price, the exploitation of others
EMERGENCE OF LIBERATION THEOLOGY AND LINKS TO MARXISM
- Latin america underdeveloped
- At a crossroads: capitalism or socialism
- Ideological battle impacted general elections, cause violence and revolution
- Violent uprisings Marx had predicated seemed to be happening in Latin America
- Led to liberation theology, focus on increasing human well-being not wealth
GUTIERREZ
Political
- Being Christian requires a person to be political
- Church must be a voice against alienation and exploitation, requiring orthopraxis first
- Working to change people’s lives should come before concerns of doctrines
STRUCTURAL SIN
Accepting the injustice suffered by the poor and oppressed masses
WE NEED TO:
- Understanding of the development of capitalism
- Belief that humans could change the world they live In (arguably Marx’s most important impact on liberation theology)
GUTIERREZ AGAINST MARXISM
- Gutierrez cautious against endorsing every aspect of Marxism as at the end of the day he is an atheist
- But did believe people of Latin America had a deep rooted desire for liberation from the burdens of capitalism
BOFF AND BOFF INTRODUCING LIBERATION THEOLOGY
‘Liberation theology freely borrows from Marxism, certain methodical pointers that have proved fruitful in understanding the role of the oppressed’
