 Broadly speaking, liberation theology can be defined as a praxis-oriented theology that used the tools of the social sciences to move the church beyond simple charity work towards a more active role in the promotion of social justice. Each liberation theology, whether African American, feminist or Latin American, emerged in a different context. Each movement is characterized by its distinctive viewpoint, but what they all share is a commitment to social justice. This video is about Latin American liberation theology which emerged in the 1960s from a particular historical context in which issues of land distribution, race, power and economic development were deeply intertwined. Unlike in the United States or Western Europe, the poverty in Latin American nations is pervasive, endemic and imposed by industrialized nations. First, let's examine the context in which liberation theology developed in Latin America. Religion played a major role in the conquest of the Americas and the church naturally aligned itself with the governing elite during the colonial period when the Catholic faith was imposed on indigenous people. Even after independence in the 19th century, the Catholic Church continued to function as one of the main pillars of power. That explains why most Latin American revolutionary movements of the 20th century have been largely anti-clerical. At the beginning of the 20th century, the United States replaced Britain as the largest investor in Latin America. In the 1950s, U.S. relations with Latin America were at a low point. After World War II, the United States provided massive economic recovery packages for Western Europe and Japan. Latin American nations felt that they had been left out despite their contributions during the war. After the Cuban Revolution in 1959, the United States tried to win back hemispheric influence through a carrot and stick combination of financial assistance and military repression. In 1961, President Kennedy launched the Alliance for Progress to promote social and economic development within a democratic framework. And in actuality meant siphoning off Latin American resources to the United States, Britain and Western European nations. The populace governments of the 1950s and 1960s, especially those of Perón in Argentina, Vargas in Brazil and Cardenas in Mexico, promoted significant industrial development in the form of import substitution. This not only caused massive urbanization and deruralization, but also led to the emergence of civilian dissent and guerilla insurgencies. These movements, in turn, provoked the rise of military dictatorships, which sought to protect the interests of capital through political repression. While the military kept order with varying degrees of human rights violations, civilian economists and technocrats directed other policies in a system called bureaucratic authoritarianism. The understanding was that only the military could take the harsh measures needed to curb inflation, reassure foreign and domestic investors and speed up economic growth to the point where democracy could be safely practiced. Through the Alliance for Progress, the United States trained Latin American militaries to put down the guerilla insurgencies. And in every single case from the 1960s through the 80s, oppressive governments in Latin America were supported either overtly or covertly by the United States. This heavy military repression from above received tacit approval from the Church. So it was not a coincidence that liberation theology emerged in Latin America in the 1960s as a response to the military dictatorships and social crises. Catholic priests and bishops accused the military and government of lacking sensitivity to the misery of the poor. They saw the poor as victims of institutional violence by the rich and powerful. They described the situation as unjust and became actively engaged in improving the lives of the poor in their pursuit of social justice. These Latin American clerics represented a new way of doing theology by encouraging a break from an elitist notion of the Church. They established base communities, which were grassroots organizations, that not only studied the Bible but also attempted to meet their community's immediate needs for food, water, sewage disposal, and electricity. By using Christianity as a tool towards a more perfect society, liberation theologians dramatically changed the relationship between the Church and the state as well as the relationship between the Church and the people. In 1968, several Latin American bishops met at Medellin in Colombia. At this meeting, Gustavo Gutierrez, a Peruvian theologian and priest, emphasized the Church's mission to the poor. In 1971, Gutierrez published A Theology of Liberation. This book became a seminal work for the movement and gave the movement its name, and Gutierrez is considered as one of the main architects of Latin American liberation theology. Father Gutierrez did not represent Lima's aristocracy. He grew up in a poor family, but because of his intellectual aptitude, he was offered an opportunity to pursue graduate studies in Belgium and France. In Europe, he mastered traditional theology, but after he returned to Peru, Gutierrez realized that the theories he had learned in Europe were not designed to address issues of poverty and oppression in Latin America. The texts that he had studied focused only on spiritual salvation. There was nothing about liberation from physical oppression and the Church did not protect the people from human rights violations, poverty, and armed conflicts. Gutierrez was trained in academic theology, but he broke from some of its conventions and viewpoints. Gutierrez is considered to be the founder of Latin American liberation theology because he aligned the role of the Church with the needs of the people by focusing on the importance of social justice in the Bible. Latin American liberation theology developed in response to a new understanding of the Church's relationship to the people and the role of faith in the context of poverty and social inequality. Liberation theologians outlined three steps to explain how Catholic teachings could be applied for material and spiritual liberation. The first step towards salvation is the transformation of society. The poor must be freed from economic, political, and social oppression. In the early stages, liberation theologians relied heavily on the work of dependency theorists who claimed that the underdevelopment of Latin American nations was a direct consequence of economic dependence on Europe and the United States. Their economic theory suggested that underdevelopment is not a prior stage in the natural economic development of nations, but rather an integral dimension of the international economic order created by colonialism, imperialism, and neo-imperialism. Liberation theologians denounced capitalism as the cause of poverty and oppression in Latin America. Rather than focusing solely on the potential of the afterlife, liberation theologians urged the Church to help poor people and proposed a preferential option for the poor. Liberation theologians defined the poor primarily in economic terms. Their focus was on material poverty, not spiritual poverty. So overcoming poverty became a fundamental tenet of Latin American liberation theology. They emphasized that the face of Christ emerges in the poor. Liberation theologians emphasized that Christians must support the poor and dismantle the oppressive political and economic systems that exploit labor and resources. They viewed Jesus as the liberator who is always on the side of the poor. Because of God's preference for the poor, liberation theology called for the reorganization of social, governmental, and economic structures that caused poverty. The Vatican actively repressed liberation theologians because they used Marxist critiques of ideology, class, and capitalism to assert that the Bible condemns the enrichment of the wealthy at the expense of the poor. But the connections between Marxism and liberation theology were not clear cut. Because unlike Marxist movements, liberation theology was non-elitist and it was connected to the grassroots through religion. And liberation theologians emphasized the need for liberation rather than development which was the buzzword of progressives. The second step towards salvation is the transformation of the self. Liberation theologians encouraged people to become active agents of their own destiny and to liberate themselves from injustice. Many priests lived among the peasants and taught parishioners that instead of just adoring Jesus it was more important to follow his example and fight against social sin and evil in the world. This involved self-organization in the struggle against capitalism. In Nicaragua for example, Father Ernesto Cardinal together with many members of the Solentiname community played an active role in the Sandinista revolution. A few liberation theologians were also appointed as leaders in the new government including Miguel de Escoto as foreign minister and Ernesto Cardinal as the minister of culture. So the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua became a symbol of hope for liberation reviving the idea of Christian participation in revolutions against repressive governments. The third step is the transformation of our relationship with God, specifically the liberation from sin. At the theological level, liberation from sin would result in ultimate liberation and communion with God. The Vatican and the United States strongly condemned liberation theology. President Ronald Reagan's foreign policy framed it as a weapon against private property and productive capitalism. The Vatican responded by appointing very conservative bishops in Latin America. In 1979, at the Puebla conference, Pope John Paul II declared that the connection between liberation theology and Marxism were incompatible with Catholic teachings. And in 1983, when Pope John Paul II visited Nicaragua, he publicly scolded Ernesto Cardinal and silenced several priests. The repression beyond church hierarchy was worse. Several radio stations, bishops and nuns who were sympathetic to liberation theology were censored, expelled, imprisoned or assassinated. In El Salvador, Father Rutilio Grande was killed. In 1980, Archbishop Oscar Romero was gunned down in church during mass by right-wing death squad soon after he made a special address to soldiers not to obey their superiors. In 1989, Jesuit theologian Ignacio Eya-Couria was murdered along with few other priests at the Central American University. With the transitions to democracy and the collapse of the military dictatorships in the early 1990s, liberation theology lost its momentum. Latin American liberation theology had very little impact in Europe or the United States. Now whether liberation theology can be revitalized to address issues of social justice in the 21st century is a subject to debate. But if you are interested in learning more about liberation theology and the life and work of Father Romero, I recommend watching the 1989 biopic called Romero. In 2018, Father Romero was canonized by Pope Francis.