Theology

Set A #2

The Liberation Theology movement came to be in Latin America, a region much like the Philippines, having been colonized by the Spanish and culturally invaded by the west. Both the Philippines and Latin America are also burdened with a massive poverty situation. The priests of Latin America brought the new ecumenical movement of Vatican II (which identified the modern church as a servant to society) to a completely different level through the creation of a new theology.

Theology, being a study of faith, takes experiences of life and interfaces them with one’s deepest religious beliefs. The Latin American bishops could not reconcile the blatant disregard for the humanity of the majority of people in South America, and found the need to fashion a new theology based on their specific faith experience (which is different in every cultural and historical context) and demanded that the Church make this widespread injustice its business. They identified societal sin, or the structures of society that systematically replicate inequality that result in the chronic poverty which plagues Latin America, the Philippines, and other developing nations. This is a key element which went previously unacknowledged by the Church, and the world.

Traditional theology had its emphasis on orthodoxy, or the correct interpretation and understanding of Christian doctrine. Also very important was obedience to the Church’s authority, and the glorification of God’s works. There was accent on the public character of the individual’s faith, but the correct action ensuing from this faith (orthopraxis) wasn’t really stressed. Vatican II paved the way for Liberation Theology by its including all of humanity in the scope of God’s love, and recognizing the validity and importance of other faiths, but since the world view at the time of the council was geared toward development through industrialization, the clergy involved (mostly form the