Liberation Theology Research Paper

While traditional theology focused on invigorating faith, liberation theology is intended to promote social justice for marginalized populations and improve the community. In traditional theology, those mainly involved were scholars with academic qualifications who sought abstract and philosophical ideas regarding their faith. By contrast, liberation theology is inclusive of everyone, and all are able to contribute within their own capacity. In this inclusive system, liberation theology seeks to ask and address questions that arise from social analysis and engagement. Rather than allowing select individuals to preach to the rest of the population, as seen in traditional theology, liberation theology empowers all individuals to promote justice

Liberation theology, a term first used in 1973 by Gustavo Gutierrez, a Peruvian Roman Catholic priest, is a school of thought among Latin American Catholics according to which the Gospel of Christ demands that the church concentrate its efforts on liberating the people of the world from poverty and oppression. The main belief is that the church should be a movement for those who were denied their rights because they were poor (Sharon 12/3). The strength of liberation theology is in its compassion for the poor and its conviction that the Christian should not remain passive and indifferent to their plight. Man's inhumanity to man is sin and deserves the judgment of God and Christian resistance. Liberation theology is a plea for costly discipleship and a reminder that follow Jesus has practical social and political consequences. Liberation theology believes that the poor in favelas should take the example of Jesus and that the Church should act to bring about social change through base communities. Favelas are slums/ghettos (Sharon 12/3). Base communities are the grass roots organizations where people live, work, and form bible study groups (Sharon 12/3).

heavily emphasized God’s preference of those who are oppressed and challenged scholars to review their preconceived notions on scripture study. In addition, A Theology of Liberation made religion more accessible and meaningful to those who faced oppression or poverty ("Gustavo Gutierrez and the Preferential Option for the Poor"). In Liberation Theology, according to Gutierrez, Liberation Theologians take upon a view from those individuals who are on the lower end of the social and

Sociological imagination highlights how society places the two sexes in unequal positions of wealth, power and privilege. It is therefore very useful to look beyond the gender itself and see the global issues associated with it. There are differences regarding the type of gender in different countries, the levels of gender inequality and the amount of violence that are necessary to maintain both systems of difference and domination. Women were always viewed as weak, sensitive, dependent and unintelligent so the society formed a view that they have to sit home, do the housework and raise the children. They were always considered less skilled, incapable of doing a hard work and even now women are more likely to be paid less than man. Women are more likely to be abused and they are less likely to have access to formal power. According to the United Nations, “At least one in five of world’s female population has been physically or sexually abused by a man at some time in their life” (UNFPA, 2000: p. 25).

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

“Women aren’t the problem but the solution. The plight of girls is no more a tragedy than an opportunity” (Kristof & WuDunn, 2009, p. xviii). This quote does an excellent job of introducing the issues discussed in the book Half the Sky. In this book, Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn present us with the issue of the unjust and cruel treatment of women in today’s world. Women throughout the world are treated in unthinkably bad ways, but the majority of people are not even aware of the suffering these women face on a daily basis. According to Kristof and WuDunn (2009), “Women aged fifteen through forty-four are more likely to be maimed or die from male violence than from cancer, malaria, traffic accidents, and war combined” (p. 61). However, Kristof and WuDunn (2009) also point out that if something dramatic such as a school shooting or bombing takes place, it makes breaking news, and everyone is aware of it all at once (p. xiv). Plenty of women are being mistreated every minute of

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

Genocide has long had gendered effects, but those effects have long gone relatively understudied as with many other issues relating to feminism in academic scholarship. By gendering our understanding of power and violence, genocide must be rethought and even perhaps redefined, as the reality of genocide often finds itself in conflict with the genocidal realities women have faced throughout time. Through gendering our understanding of genocide in this analysis, the feminist viewpoint provides important acknowledgements for the effects of these human rights abuses on both men and women. Moreover, we will better understand how the

Women all over the world have been mistreated for more than a century. It has been exploited throughout the world as how “women aren’t currently treated the same as men in certain situations” but it is far more beyond that. Only half of the world seems to at least know what is really happening behind the curtain. Ambiguous people have manipulated the very much realness with what is exactly taking place in our society. In this essay, I will be talking about the following things; Inequity in the workplace, “Asking for it”, Violence against women globally, Education, and The psychology of it all. These five topics need to be demanded attention. Our younger generation needs to be cognizant of what has been going on for many millenniums. Girls and women should be able to walk around at night and not be afraid, nor should they be afraid to oppose another man. There is no real justification on why women should be treated like this but there is plenty of justification on why they shouldn 't, so genuinely why is this problem happening? Some of the books that I read to have mostly validation on this paper from other human beings but also to enlighten myself even more that I already am. “Subjection of Women” by John Stuart Mill, “Created Equal: Voices on Women 's Rights” by Anna Horsbrugh-Porter, and “Equal Pay for Equal Work” by Grace C. Strachan. I chose these three texts because each one yet talks about the same thing but has a little bit of a different perspective on each. I

The liberation theodicy puts a lot of emphasis on Jesus identifying with the poor and oppressed. People who mostly identified with this theodicy were the people who are experiencing oppression. Most people in

Women face two key forms of oppression in this world, powerlessness and exploitation. These two forms fall into Iris M. Young’s ideas of oppression in her article “Five Faces of Oppression”. The definition of cultural imperialism and exploitation used in this essay are taken from Young’s essay. Cultural imperialism is where the dominant customs and morals of a society are rendered as the norm and those who are not in the norm are considered others. Exploitation is a form of oppression where a class structure is present and this class structure includes a dominant group of people who are in power of a subordinate group. Two authors, John Stuart Mill and Simone de Beauvoir, talk about how the oppression of women is not due to nature. It is rather, in Mill’s view, due to a premodern law of force which divides men and women between the strong and the weak. Beauvoir sees this oppression of women as a result from socialization, which conformed women to become immanent. Both these authors have reasonable arguments and have a similar understanding that the inferiority of women is not from the simple nature of being women. Other factors come into play when understanding why women are oppressed, and both authors recognize the fact that society and old habits must change for the equality of women and men to become a reality.

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

As I journey on this path called life, I’ve come to realize that my passion soars in many different directions. From saving the environment to providing for the homeless, I try to incorporate all of my passions into my life. Despite the many social and environmental topics that I’m passionate about, my passion for equality soars the highest. As a woman, I find it exceptionally interesting to learn how cultures around the world view gender equality. Many cultures around the world view women as being weak and inferior to men, both physically and mentally. In various countries, especially in the Middle East and India, domestic violence is commonplace. Their laws support violence against women who dissatisfy men and this treatment can, in some

Liberation theology is situational. The emergence of liberation theology and the interpretation of the Bible under liberation theology stems directly to the participants place in society. As the title suggests, liberation theology interprets the Bible as a document of hope that will give strength and validity to a struggle against an oppressor. Liberation theology rises out of a new political consciousness. The oppressed people have to realize they are oppressed and that the Bible text can be used as a tool to overcome their oppressors. In regards to South Africa, there was an awakening when the black people realized their lack of influence in politics, the huge economic disparity between rich and poor, and their low

It was a way of thinking and interpreting the bible. However it ended up being more than that. It analyzed history from different perspectives and acknowledged Marxism thoughts. (V.A.1) One main purpose of liberation theology was to help the poor.