Liberation Flashcards
Conscientisation definition
Developing critical awareness of the social reality through reflection and action
Basic Christian Communities definition
Small communities who worship God, focusing on local social justice and solving difficulties within their lives.
Structural Sin V. Individual Sin + Scholars
Structural sin e.g. Social / Economic Sin
- Sin from structures as opposed to individuals
- The focus of Marxism + Liberation theology
- Prioritised by Gustavo Gutierrez (emphasis on earthy liberation + building kingdom of heaven on earth)
Individual Sin
- the Focus of Traditional Christianity
- Prioritised by Juan Segundo (individual liberation from sin leads to socio-economic liberation)
- Catholic Church - CCC - Structural sin is a consequence / build up of Individual sin
Orthopraxy v Orthodoxy
Orthopraxy
- Focus on the right action
- Supported by Helder Camara
–> However, need theology to determine what the right action is? - But epistemic distance / God beyond our understanding, never understand theology so should start with orthopraxy
Orthodoxy
- Focus on theology
CELAM
- Determined they needed to put orthopraxy over orthodoxy to address inequality within Latin America
Outline the Historical context for Liberation theology
Colonisation
- in 1400’s of Latin America by Catholics - Pope allowed conversion to Catholicism by force
Independence
- 1800’s
- Still had western influence e.g. capitalism provided upper class control + exploitation of lower classes
- European clergy
CELAM
- Catholic conference in 1950’s to address social inequality + lack of Priests
- Raised questions of
–> weather church had become dependent on european / capitalist powers to control Latin America making it loose touch with normal people
–> church + capitalism compatible
- Decided to develop orthopraxy first based mission to address social needs of people
List the 4 key Liberation theology Scholars + their views?
Juscelino Kubitschek
- Brazil President in 50’s
- Social inequality goes against church, church must take stand
Oscar Romero
- 20th Cent. Archbishop
- Beatified + called matyr by Pope Francis
- Opposed violence
- Backed preferential option for the poor (by Guiterrez)
Helder Camara
- 20th Cent. Archbishop
- Favoured Orthopraxy over orthodoxy
- “when I give food to the poor they call me a saint, when I ask why the poor have no food they call me a communist”
- Liberation requires individual christians to reflect on actions
Gustavo Guiterrez
- Thought liberation from social and economic sin should come first (use Juan Segundo to oppose)
- Had emphasis on earthy liberation to created kingdom of heaven on earth
–> Thought Heaven on earth could attract more people to christianity
Why does Kingdom of heaven have a mention in Lib Theo.
- Believed earth is more important than heaven ∴ should fight oppression to create heaven on earth
- Lib theo switches focus from how to get into heaven to how to replicate heaven –> to imitate JC (more moral approach)
- Gutierrez
–> want to create environment on earth everyone lived ethically to attract peeps to christianity + extent heaven to earth not only afterlife
Biblical quotes for lib. theo
Exodus
- “Let my people go, so that they may worship me”
–> God says slaves need to be liberated before they can worship God - for prioritising liberation from structural sin before individual
Matthew
- “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven”
–> Preferential option for the poor”
- “easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God”
–> Preferential option for the poor, JC speaks negatively of wealthy + those with social power to exploit others - “Just as you did to the least of these brothers and sisters of min, you did for me”
- “Where your treasure is there your heart will also be”
–> advocates liberation from earth possessions to focus on worship - preferential option for poor
What is preferential option for the poor? def, explain, 3 scholars
- Idea developed by Father Pedro Arrupe
- Based on biblical trends showing preferential treatment to marginalised / poorer members of society.
- Mostly JC, but OT e.g’s as well e.g. David and Goliath
- Juan Segundo - (Lib. individual leads to socio-economic lib.) - Church should condemn abuse, injustice” and struggle for the defence and advancement of especially poor
- Pope John Paul II - advancement of the poor provides opportunity for growth of humanity
–> Concern both material and spiritual poverty
–> damned capitalism encyclicals, “Consumerism exploiting the fragility of the weak resulting in spiritual void”
–> Directly mentioned preferential options in his encyclicals
List the key features of Marxism (Lib theo) (5)
- Alienation
–> overspecialisation of workers leads to alienation of workers from products + others
–> alienation makes exploitation easier –> “workers of the world unite, you have nothing to lose but your chains” - Capitalism forced onto everyone
–> inescapable - Capitalism defining relationships
–> Divides bourgeoisie and proletariate - forces dehumanisation of workers + consumers, peeps being used as means (Kant Formula of the End in itself) - Christianity relating to Marxism
–> Capitalism as social sin + form of slavery preventing worship of God (exodus - “let my people go so that they may worship me”) - Marx against religion
–> religion as “opium of the people” dulls pain + normalises oppression
Issue
- Marxist belief in evolution of humans to be selfish
- idea humans can become own saviour (messiah)
- Marxist focus on Structural sin over individual
List 8 Wider Scholars for liberation theology (Not key ones)
(5 against lib, 2 for, 3 against Marxism)
(3) Lib theo Un-Christian
Cardinal Ratzinger
- Marxist theory contains intolerance
- Denial of the individual leads to danger of theology being sidelined for violent revolution.
- only God can remove suffering
- liberation should be individual spiritual liberation
Kloppenburg
- Lib theo places opposition to oppression above Gospel
–> equating theology with politics sidelines theology
- Idea you can become liberated without God is unchristian
Pope John Paul II
- Lib theo too political for church
(1) Lib theo Criticism
Richard McBrein
- Lib theo focuses on selective biblical themes (e.g. poverty) at expense of other themes (e.g. do no harm)
- Lib theo defines oppression exclusively to economic
–> What about sexism, racism?
(2) Lib theo support
Pope Francis
- supported Lib theo
–> Asked Gutierrez to be keynote speaker at Vatican
–> Beatified + martyred Oscar Romero in 2015
- Criticised capitalism
Bonhoeffer
- “Church is the church only when it exists for others”
RESERCH MORE
(3) Marxism criticism
Jose Bonino
- Warns against wholesale adoption of Marxism
–> elements could be helpful
Leonardo Boff
- Marxism cannot be basis of Lib theo - too Un-Christian
- Marx himself wanted revolt against religion
- Marx + JC mutually exclusive e.g. revolution v. Turn other cheek
Kolakowski
- Authoritarian tendencies of marxist regimes
–> marxist principles used to justify oppresion + human rights abuse
e.g. Cambodia 1970’s Marxist revolution 2 mil dead (starvation, execution, forced labour etc)
