2. ā¢ Western models of development took into
account allocation of material resources
ā¢ Seldom was the impact of religion, spirituality,
non-material factors considered
ā¢ However, development efforts initiated by
and within third world countries showed
greater success with spiritual motivations
ā¢ 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
ā¢ Difficult to ignore that every religion had
specific references to development as a
process of liberation from injustice,
discrimination, and prejudice (3rd world vices)
ā¢ 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?
ā¢ Christianity Taoism
ā¢ Buddhism Sikhism
ā¢ Hinduism Jainism
ā¢ Islam North American tribal
ā¢ Judaism African tribal
ā¢ Bahaāi Other indigenous
ā¢ Shintoism Marxism
6. Christian Liberation Theology
ā¢ Emerged from the teachings of Jesus of
Nazareth
ā¢ Belief in Trinity (three forms): God the Father,
Son and Holy Spirit
ā¢ Jesusā main teachings: to love God; to love
oneās neighbor (from the New Testament)
ā¢ Christianity is largest global religion; divided
into: Roman Catholicism (largest),
Protestantism (many divisions), Orthodox
7. Liberation assumptionsā¦
ā¢ Emphasis on life of prayer and service to oneās
neighbor
ā¢ Application of liberation theology: identify
specific situation, then respond with prayer
and appropriate service
ā¢ Traces of Christian liberation mostly seen in
activism against poverty and oppression,
championed by clerics and social activists
8. Latin America
ā¢ A continent with majority Christian population
ā¢ In 1968, meeting of Latin American bishops
(Second General Conference) radically
sparked Christian liberation movements
ā¢ Idea of Christian base community, to fight
poverty and injustice
ā¢ Reinforced in Peruvian theologian and priest,
Gustavo Gutierrezās book, A Theology of
Liberation
9. ā¢ Religious leaders prompted by oppression to
rethink Biblical teachings and priorities based
on those teachings
ā¢ Direct work with poor and oppressed deemed
necessary
ā¢ Selected Bible passages and prayer can
provide enlightenment and support
ā¢ 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
ā¢ God is very close to humanity
ā¢ We encounter God via commitment to justice
for all
ā¢ A spirituality of liberation is inseparable form
and catalyzes the work of liberation
(Conversion to God and to the oppressed)
ā¢ 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
ā¢ Drawn mainly from the āoppressedā traditions
of the Jews: first with the Exodus, and then
with the Holocaust
ā¢ Judaism important as a liberation theology
ā¢ Shares likeness with Christian liberation
ā¢ Also known to inspire Latin American, African,
anti-apartheid and feminist movements
ā¢ 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
ā¢ Muslimās believe Quran was written by God
and revealed to Prophet Muhammed in AD
570
ā¢ A widespread religion that covers over a
billion people worldwide
ā¢ 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
ā¢ Muslimās believe that Quran was not divinely
inspired, but direct speech of God. However
textually traces of time and temperament is
prevalent
ā¢ Esack observes that every generation of
Muslims have likewise interpreted the Quran
to suit the time and tastes of the period
ā¢ Some groups have used the text to justify
oppression and injustice, like the Taliban
(extremist interpretations)
14. ā¢ However many scholars and activists also
identify liberation perspectives in Islam
ā¢ For e.g., Malcolm X who fought for African
American civil rights preached and practiced
from the Quran
ā¢ Esackās observations similar to Christian views
ā¢ 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
ā¢ Allah is constantly involved in the affairs of
humankind
ā¢ Allah is concerned with justice for the
oppressed, both believers and non believers
ā¢ A full understanding of the Quranās support
for the oppressed requires full commitment to
and engagement in the struggle for liberation
16. Gandhian Liberation Theology
ā¢ Hindu Liberation theology credited to
Mahatma Gandhi
ā¢ Hinduism one of the oldest religions; emerged
in the Indus valley in about 3500 BC
ā¢ Origin unclear; sacred texts- Vedas and
Upanishads
ā¢ Karma is central belief in Hindu doctrine
ā¢ Three ends in Hinduism: dharma, or virtue;
artha, acquisition of material things by
dharma; and kama, gratification of senses, by
a cultivated mind
17. ā¢ Gandhi, born in 1869, grew up in deep religious
merchant class family; his father known to parley
with Muslim religious leaders
ā¢ At age 18, he goes to England to study law; he is
impressed by Bible and themes of non-retaliation
and non-resistance
ā¢ Posted to South Africa, for 23 years he develops
liberation theology by a comparative study of
religions, his experiences and observations of
oppression
ā¢ He successfully gained legal recognition for Hindu
marriages, overturned civil and economic limits
of Indians, etc.
18. Swaraj and Satyagraha
ā¢ Concept of swaraj or liberation first
mentioned in Gandhiās book Hind Swaraj,1908
ā¢ 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
ā¢ Satyagraha means force (or firmness) of truth
ā¢ Therefore Gandhi spoke of achieving swaraj
through satyagraha, and additional virtues like
ahimsa (non-violence) and tapaya (self-
suffering)
19. ā¢ Satyagraha became the base for the passive
resistance and civil disobedience movements
which influenced Christian liberation as well
ā¢ 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
ā¢ Gandhi, in this spirit of ahimsa, denounced
modern professions as materialistic and
exploitative
20. ā¢ On returning to India, Gandhi applied many
strategies for empowerment
ā¢ He believed economic self-sufficiency and
rejection of oppression and discrimination
was key to Indian liberation
ā¢ Encouraged hand-spinning (khadi) to reinforce
this; simultaneously worked towards
removing untouchability
ā¢ He also tried to cement Hindu-Muslim
relations to avoid an internal divide in the
nation; forgiveness and unity required
21. Buddhism and Liberation
ā¢ A religion that originated in 5th or 6th BC
ā¢ Name Buddha means āenlightened oneā
ā¢ Started by Gautama Siddhartha, member of a
Hindu royal family, who denounces worldly
pleasures to seek enlightenment
ā¢ Gautama spends many years meditating
which led him to the ādiscovery of the truthā
ā¢ This enlightenment was understood to be a
liberation from suffering
22. ā¢ Buddha is not a god but a human being who
was enlightened
ā¢ Therefore followers believe all human beings
seeking enlightenment can become Buddhas
ā¢ 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. ā¢ Buddhist liberation is considered as nirvana
ā¢ Key is to find sufficient hope within the
suffering of oppressed groups to spark
systematic involvement
ā¢ This is referred to as engaged Buddhism
ā¢ 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. ā¢ Buddhist monks have actively participated in
activism against oppression; self-immolation
and protests for liberation
ā¢ Chinese occupation of Tibet greatly opposed
by Buddhist nuns; fight against oppression and
for human rights
ā¢ Over 300 million Buddhists worldwide
25. Liberation theology and Marxism
ā¢ Highly controversial and unique stream of
liberation theology
ā¢ Opposes doctrinal prejudices of religion-based
liberation theology (For e.g. existence of God,
superiority of classes, etc.)
ā¢ Call for a secular, non-capitalist approach
towards upliftment of the poor
ā¢ 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 conflictsā¦
ā¢ Marxism never found place for God
ā¢ 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
ā¢ Marxās call for āviolentā revolution was
criticized and replaced with non-violent
resistance
28. ā¢ 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.