Hispanic/Latin American Liberation Theology Analysis

However Berger underlines Weber’s point that religious ideas alone are not enough to produce economic development. He says that natural resources are also needed. For example while Protestantism has grown in northern Brazil, the religion lacks resources and remains backwards. By contrast, the south, which is developing rapidly, has both a work ethic derived from Pentecostalism and the necessary resources.

Throughout my selected text, Johnson focuses on the church along with the subsequent androcentric image of God, and how it impacts woman around the world. She explains that throughout history, with the help of the church’s patriarchal nature and society’s values as a whole, woman have been seen “as a ‘defective male’…that must live in obedience to her [male counterpart,]…[ and who are often also referred to as the] ‘second sex’” (Johnson 92). This

A series of crucial literature was produced between 1959 and 1964 in Brazil; the literature intertwined Christian principles, social and liberal sciences, and stressed the need for active engagement in the world in relation to justice for those oppressed. In Bogotá, Colombia the first Liberation Theology-based congregations were held in March of 1970 and July of 1971 (Introducing Liberation Theology). Gustavo Gutierrez was to be credited with the foundation of Liberation Theology.

“La Feminista”, an article written by Anna Nieto Gomez in 1974, discusses the conflicts and struggles surrounding the Chicana identity and the Chicano movement. The feministas are consisted of a group of minority Latin women, the Chicanas, who are “Spanish-speaking, culturally different and non-Anglo group” (Anna Nieto Gomez 183). They suffered racial discrimination from not being white which was the only race superior to all others at that time. Worse still, they encountered sexism in a patriarchal society that gave power, authority and privileges to the male. The formation of the minority group the femenistas can be traced back to the Chicano movement that took place in 1970s. During the Chicano movement, Chicanos, who were racially oppressed

Liberation theology refers to the liberation of oppressive regimes through Christianity. For instance, liberation theology was used to combat the military government in El Salvador. This is important because it shines the light on how theology played a fundamental role in the liberation of the Salvadoran Civil War. Furthermore, there are many branches to liberation theology for example biblical, pastoral, theological and revolutionary. These branches are unique in how they carry out their action, but the objective is still the same. In other words, these different branches all have the same objective. For example, biblical theology emphasis social justice through the scriptures of the Bible. On the other hand, revolutionary theology emphasized

Religion is a long-standing social and cultural phenomenon. Religion can play a different role in different societies during different periods. In the modern society, it has an important function due to it promotes social integration and identity. It has a very important impact. Therefore, from my perspective, it is significant to learn about Latino religious practices and know about the religious affiliation of Latino families, so that people can deliver better services to them.

In Santa Biblia: The Bible Through Hispanic Eyes, Justo L. Gonzalez explains that the meaning of “Hispanic eyes” is viewpoint of those who have claimed Hispanic identity and have read Scriptures to the commitment of the Latino struggle for freedom. The author is trying to communicate the new meaning through biblical texts that are read from a different perspective as well as showing the readers that embracing different theological viewpoints is necessary and shows how they function in interpreting the Bible. Gonzalez goes about making this argument through the five perspectives, Marginality, Poverty, Mestizaje and Mulatez, Exiles and Aliens, and finally Solidarity. Each perspective talks about how the Latinos apply them to both their life situations and when reading the Bible.

The Chicano power movement of the 1960's is characterized by Carlos Munoz, jr. as a movement led by the decedents of Mexican Americans who pressed for assimilation. These young people, mostly students, became tired of listening to school rhetoric that stressed patriotism when they were being discriminated against outside the classroom. Unlike their parents, the young people of the Chicano movement did not want to assimilate into mainstream America and lose their identity, they wanted to establish an identity of their own and fight for the civil rights of their people.

Gustavo Gutierrez coined the term “liberation theology” and its roots come from Latin America. According to the dictionary, liberation theology is defined as “a 20th-century Christian theology, emphasizing the Biblical and doctrinal theme of liberation from oppression, whether racial, sexual, economic, or political” (dictionary). Liberation theology arose principally as a moral reaction to the poverty and social justice in Latin America. This particular reason is why Gustavo Gutierrez adapts this method and relies on it heavily because of his

The Central American War had changed the priorities of the Catholic Church in Latin America. In the 1980’s, the clergy’s had decided to go against the Catholic Church mainly the Vatican despite the various threats, and began to help the poor which were struggling for their equality and their rights. The Catholic activism was in support of the change; however, it did influence guerilla movements in certain parts of Latin America such as Nicaragua, Salvador, Guatemala. This had introduced moral and

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. - Matthew 6:9. The idea of “God the father” is one that is rooted deep in our society predominantly the ways in which it rejoices men. The almighty all and powerful God is outlined as a male figure in the bible, constructed using almost entirely masculine language. This simple fact has provoked men to assume the position of authority, to oversee over his family. This simple fact leads to an imbalance of power between men and women subconsciously oppressing women within our society. In Mary Daly’s “After the Death of God the Father,” Mary explains how the Judeo-Christian culture has served to bring structure to a sexually imbalanced man driven culture." This male-controlled society has its establishments in the most discernible parts of Christianity.” Mary’s work is a continuation of what is known as “The women's liberation movement” furthering the conversation of societies hold on a woman and bringing change. In this critical evaluation of Mary Daly's work, I will discuss the thesis and argument of the reading, along with an analysis of its assumptions and implications.

In the post-World War II era, the globe was polarized by two idealistically divergent superpowers; the United States and the Soviet Union, two nations that strived to promote capitalism and communism, respectively, throughout the globe. Nowhere was this struggle more apparent than in developing countries with shaky political and economic backbones. Specifically, in Latin America the old, corrupt and often totalitarian regimes were threatened by grassroots liberation movements whose ideas of land reform and shaking up the status quo were often perceived as Marxism. The Catholic Church, which had traditionally supported the wealthy ruling class, began to change its beliefs in

Religion is powerful in that it controls followers’ behaviours and beliefs throughout their entire lives; it is a form of social control. Catholicism is one of the most widely known religions influencing more than 2 billion people around the world (Ross). Within Catholicism not everyone are seen as equals; men have greater privilege than women. The bible and church are from a male’s point of view (Christ 86) and passages within the bible are used to enforce a sexual hierarchy. In fact, the oppression of women begins with the first story in Genesis about creation, which portrays females as being inferior to men and even of an evil nature. This one passage is the main source of justification of oppression of woman in the church (Daly 13).

Liberation theology calls followers of Jesus to work together to create a just society that brings change and align themselves with the oppressed. All of my sources Gustavo Gutierrez, Paul Farmer, and Sohail Hasmi place defending the rights of the poor as a central aspects of their arguments. Which is why I am led to believe that my sources could come together, even if they have different point of views. In Gustavo Gutierrez’s Theology of Liberation, he argues this theology is about committing to abolish injustice to build an improved society. A strong part of his argument is when he describes that in order to advance to a just society, Christians must “abolish the present status quo and attempt to replace it with a qualitative different

Gustavo Gutierrez coined the term liberation theology, and is considered to be the father of it to most people. He believed praxis was the starting point. Theology was the second stage. This was basically a practice of theory. Praxis involved taking action for the poor and the oppressed. The start of this new was caused from various reasons. One reason was that all bishops were sent to Europe to be educated. When they came back, they would be radicalized. Latin Americans wanted their own schooling for priests. They didn’t want European ideas; they wanted their ideas from their culture. Another big problem was poverty and human rights. Most Latin Americans were poverty stricken. Most countries in Latin America didn’t have any human rights. Therefore one their main focuses was social injustice. (V.A.1)