Liberation theology

Liberation theology interprets Christian faith through the struggle against poverty and oppression. It emphasizes the agency of marginalized people and connects theological reflection with efforts to transform unjust conditions.

See–judge–act: A method of social reflection that observes a situation, evaluates it ethically, and responds through action. This sequence describes how liberation theology connects analysis of injustice with practical change.
Second Vatican Council: A Roman Catholic council held from 1962 to 1965 that reshaped the Church’s engagement with the modern world. Its reforms helped create conditions for new approaches to church, society, and religious practice.
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith: The Vatican office responsible for promoting and safeguarding Catholic doctrine. It assessed liberation theology’s claims and issued guidance on its use of Marxist analysis.
Feminist theology: Theological work that examines how gender shapes religious traditions, institutions, and interpretations. It shares liberation theology’s critique of domination while centering gendered experience.
Praxis: Reflective action that tests and reshapes understanding through engagement with the world. Liberation theologians treat action among oppressed communities as a source of theological insight.
Medellín Conference: The 1968 Latin American bishops’ conference that addressed poverty and social injustice across the region. Its call to confront structural injustice helped define the movement’s regional setting.
Instruction on Certain Aspects of the Theology of Liberation: A 1984 Vatican instruction criticizing forms of liberation theology that relied uncritically on Marxist analysis. The document states a central institutional critique of the movement’s political methods.
Black theology: A Christian theological tradition interpreting faith through the history and struggle of Black people against racism. It developed a related liberation-centered approach grounded in a distinct history of racial oppression.
Base ecclesial community: A small Christian community that gathers locally for worship, Bible study, and collective reflection. These communities often put shared biblical interpretation and local action into practice.
CELAM: The Latin American Episcopal Council, an organization coordinating cooperation among the region’s Catholic bishops. Its conferences provided a forum for debates that shaped Latin American Catholic theology.

Linked from 34 pages