Liberation Theology

1. Liberation Perspectives on
Development
Using religion for development

2. • Western models of development took into
account allocation of material resources
• Seldom was the impact of religion, spirituality,
non-material factors considered
• However, development efforts initiated by
and within third world countries showed
greater success with spiritual motivations
• Question is, did religion really have an
impact? Were the western scholars incorrect
to assume a separation of material and
spiritual concerns?

3. Religion for development
• Difficult to ignore that every religion had
specific references to development as a
process of liberation from injustice,
discrimination, and prejudice (3rd world vices)
• These religious arguments proved powerful
enough to act as catalyst for active
participation in individual and community
empowerment ( development goals)

4. What is liberation theology?
The type of theology that actively supports
development for personal and collective
empowerment ,
and liberation from poverty, racial,
ethnic and sexual discrimination.

5. Religions of the world?
• Christianity Taoism
• Buddhism Sikhism
• Hinduism Jainism
• Islam North American tribal
• Judaism African tribal
• Baha’i Other indigenous
• Shintoism Marxism

6. Christian Liberation Theology
• Emerged from the teachings of Jesus of
Nazareth
• Belief in Trinity (three forms): God the Father,
Son and Holy Spirit
• Jesus’ main teachings: to love God; to love
one’s neighbor (from the New Testament)
• Christianity is largest global religion; divided
into: Roman Catholicism (largest),
Protestantism (many divisions), Orthodox

7. Liberation assumptions…
• Emphasis on life of prayer and service to one’s
neighbor
• Application of liberation theology: identify
specific situation, then respond with prayer
and appropriate service
• Traces of Christian liberation mostly seen in
activism against poverty and oppression,
championed by clerics and social activists

8. Latin America
• A continent with majority Christian population
• In 1968, meeting of Latin American bishops
(Second General Conference) radically
sparked Christian liberation movements
• Idea of Christian base community, to fight
poverty and injustice
• Reinforced in Peruvian theologian and priest,
Gustavo Gutierrez’s book, A Theology of
Liberation

9. • Religious leaders prompted by oppression to
rethink Biblical teachings and priorities based
on those teachings
• Direct work with poor and oppressed deemed
necessary
• Selected Bible passages and prayer can
provide enlightenment and support
• In short, liberation can be achieved by a
combination of work, Bible study and prayer,
on behalf of the poor and oppressed

10. Biblical arguments for Liberation
• God is very close to humanity
• We encounter God via commitment to justice
for all
• A spirituality of liberation is inseparable form
and catalyzes the work of liberation
(Conversion to God and to the oppressed)
• These arguments, and others from the Bible,
have been seen among African-American,
North American, Anti-Apartheid, and Feminist
liberation movements

11. Jewish Liberation Theology
• Drawn mainly from the “oppressed” traditions
of the Jews: first with the Exodus, and then
with the Holocaust
• Judaism important as a liberation theology
• Shares likeness with Christian liberation
• Also known to inspire Latin American, African,
anti-apartheid and feminist movements
• Ellis & Lerner envision an inclusivity in Jewish
liberation, that would aim to ease the tension
between particularity and universality (to
become self-critical), to fight injustice

12. Islam and Liberation
• Muslim’s believe Quran was written by God
and revealed to Prophet Muhammed in AD
570
• A widespread religion that covers over a
billion people worldwide
• Five major principles in Islam: God (Allah) is
foremost, every Muslim must pray 5 times a
day, give alms to the poor, affluent Muslims
should fast during Ramadan and every
Muslim should visit Mecca at least once in
his/her lifetime

13. Historical interpretation
• Muslim’s believe that Quran was not divinely
inspired, but direct speech of God. However
textually traces of time and temperament is
prevalent
• Esack observes that every generation of
Muslims have likewise interpreted the Quran
to suit the time and tastes of the period
• Some groups have used the text to justify
oppression and injustice, like the Taliban
(extremist interpretations)

14. • However many scholars and activists also
identify liberation perspectives in Islam
• For e.g., Malcolm X who fought for African
American civil rights preached and practiced
from the Quran
• Esack’s observations similar to Christian views
• Hence the neo Islamic liberation theology
speaks of commitment and collaboration
between Muslims and Non Muslims to
achieve similar, universal goals- democratic,
non-racist, non-sexist society (without
affecting traditional rituals)

15. Quranic Tenets
• Allah is constantly involved in the affairs of
humankind
• Allah is concerned with justice for the
oppressed, both believers and non believers
• A full understanding of the Quran’s support
for the oppressed requires full commitment to
and engagement in the struggle for liberation

16. Gandhian Liberation Theology
• Hindu Liberation theology credited to
Mahatma Gandhi
• Hinduism one of the oldest religions; emerged
in the Indus valley in about 3500 BC
• Origin unclear; sacred texts- Vedas and
Upanishads
• Karma is central belief in Hindu doctrine
• Three ends in Hinduism: dharma, or virtue;
artha, acquisition of material things by
dharma; and kama, gratification of senses, by
a cultivated mind

17. • Gandhi, born in 1869, grew up in deep religious
merchant class family; his father known to parley
with Muslim religious leaders
• At age 18, he goes to England to study law; he is
impressed by Bible and themes of non-retaliation
and non-resistance
• Posted to South Africa, for 23 years he develops
liberation theology by a comparative study of
religions, his experiences and observations of
oppression
• He successfully gained legal recognition for Hindu
marriages, overturned civil and economic limits
of Indians, etc.

18. Swaraj and Satyagraha
• Concept of swaraj or liberation first
mentioned in Gandhi’s book Hind Swaraj,1908
• Swaraj refers to a democratic, self-
determined society, with belief in God,
tolerance of other faiths, and rejection of all
forms of oppression and exploitation
• Satyagraha means force (or firmness) of truth
• Therefore Gandhi spoke of achieving swaraj
through satyagraha, and additional virtues like
ahimsa (non-violence) and tapaya (self-
suffering)

19. • Satyagraha became the base for the passive
resistance and civil disobedience movements
which influenced Christian liberation as well
• Ahimsa originates from Buddhist and Jain
attitude of love and non violence; truth comes
out of love- Tapaya is an extension of ahimsa-
self-suffering necessary to achieve love and
non violence
• Gandhi, in this spirit of ahimsa, denounced
modern professions as materialistic and
exploitative

20. • On returning to India, Gandhi applied many
strategies for empowerment
• He believed economic self-sufficiency and
rejection of oppression and discrimination
was key to Indian liberation
• Encouraged hand-spinning (khadi) to reinforce
this; simultaneously worked towards
removing untouchability
• He also tried to cement Hindu-Muslim
relations to avoid an internal divide in the
nation; forgiveness and unity required

21. Buddhism and Liberation
• A religion that originated in 5th or 6th BC
• Name Buddha means “enlightened one”
• Started by Gautama Siddhartha, member of a
Hindu royal family, who denounces worldly
pleasures to seek enlightenment
• Gautama spends many years meditating
which led him to the ‘discovery of the truth’
• This enlightenment was understood to be a
liberation from suffering

22. • Buddha is not a god but a human being who
was enlightened
• Therefore followers believe all human beings
seeking enlightenment can become Buddhas
• Buddhist liberation thought adheres to Four
Noble Truths: Life is a process of suffering,
caused by human desire for material gain, and
this suffering can be ended, by following the
Noble Eightfold path-right views, thoughts,
speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness,
and concentration

23. • Buddhist liberation is considered as nirvana
• Key is to find sufficient hope within the
suffering of oppressed groups to spark
systematic involvement
• This is referred to as engaged Buddhism
• Sulak Sivaraska of Thailand, started this form
of engaged Buddhism with an NGO that
worked with the grassroots; rejected
modernism for traditional culture and spiritual
practice

24. • Buddhist monks have actively participated in
activism against oppression; self-immolation
and protests for liberation
• Chinese occupation of Tibet greatly opposed
by Buddhist nuns; fight against oppression and
for human rights
• Over 300 million Buddhists worldwide

25. Liberation theology and Marxism
• Highly controversial and unique stream of
liberation theology
• Opposes doctrinal prejudices of religion-based
liberation theology (For e.g. existence of God,
superiority of classes, etc.)
• Call for a secular, non-capitalist approach
towards upliftment of the poor
• Proponents of liberation theology found favor
with Marxist philosophy than mainstream,
capitalist models

26. Marxism versus Religions
-Marxism attributes individual -Capitalist models originating from
behavior to societal influences. religious initiatives seek to improve
Hence an individual alone cannot be conditions, but follow blame-the-
blamed for underdevelopment victim conclusions if poverty exists
-Marxism and liberation share same -Here the efforts originate out of
origins: a movement against religious texts that promote
oppression liberation
-Marxism and liberation recognizes -Specific actions and charitable
the need for collective action for activity are offered in order to
development achieve development
-Marxism does not support -Religions were opposed to scientific
capitalism, but does not shun methods
science either -Religions often supported the elite
-Marxists propagated the rule of the classes
oppressed over the elite, or equality
between the two

27. Additional conflicts…
• Marxism never found place for God
• Neomarxists argued that orthodox Marxism,
which called for base-superstructures (the
state managed by the lower classes), did not
see the impact of popular culture, religion and
media representations, which can effect
change
• Marx’s call for ‘violent’ revolution was
criticized and replaced with non-violent
resistance

28. • Marxism was also criticized for overly
emphasizing the individual as a product of
societal influences. Religions like Catholicism
pointed out that individual attributes cannot
be assumed to be completely supplemented
by society.
Conclusion: Marxist liberation in practice is
almost impossible. The fall of socialist states is
testament to this. However some groups with
similar standing follow Marxist theology as a
basis for social action.