Liberation Theology at the Crossroads Democracy or Revolution?

by Sigmund, Paul E.

• ISBN13: 9780195072747
• ISBN10: 019507274X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1992-09-03
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Liberation theology originated in Catholic Latin America at the end of the 1960s in response to prevalent conditions of poverty and oppression. Its basic tenet was that it is the primary duty of the church to seek to promote social and economic justice. Since that time it has grown in influence, spreading to other areas of the Third World, along with bitter controversy about its ties to Marxist ideology and violent revolution. Drawing on both English and Spanish sources, this critical study examines the history, method, and doctrines of liberation theology. Sigmund considers the movement's origins in political circumstances in Latin America and provides case studies of its role in such events as the revolution and counter-revolution in Chile, and in the revolutionary movements in El Salvador and Nicaragua. Examining the thought of major liberation theologians, as well as the critical responses of the Vatican, Sigmund shows that liberation theology is a complex phenomenon, comprising a variety of kinds and degrees of radicalism. He discerns a general trend away from the Marxist rhetoric that has often characterized the movement in the past and towards the kind of grassroots populist reform typified by the Basic Christian Communities Movement.

Author Biography

Paul E. Sigmund is Professor of Politics and Director of the Program in Latin American Studies at Princeton University

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 3
The Catholic Church and Politics: Historical and Institutional Background	p. 14
The Birth of Liberation Theology: Medellin and Beyond	p. 28
Revolution and Counterrevolution in Chile	p. 40
The Development of Liberation Theology: The Marxist Phase	p. 52
Christology and Community: The Boffs and Jon Sobrino	p. 79
The Battle of Puebla	p. 93
El Salvador and Nicaragua: Test Cases of Liberation?	p. 108
American Responses to Liberation Theology	p. 134
The Vatican and Liberation Theology: Confrontation and Compromise	p. 154
After Twenty Years: Liberation Theology Today	p. 176
"Notes for a Theology of Liberation" (1970)	p. 199
"Theology and the Social Sciences" (1984)	p. 214
Notes	p. 227
Author and Subject Index	p. 245
Index of Biblical Citations	p. 257
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