What is Liberationist Theology?

Liberationist theologies come out of South America, mostly from poor communities. It grew out of Bible studies that base groups were having where they studied the Bible in-depth together. These communities that were intensely studying the Bible together noticed that Jesus cared about the liberation of the poor. They understood that God prefers the poor and will deliver them, as seen in the Exodus in the Old Testament. God reveals Godself through this act. This is how we know God. In George V. Pixley and Clodovis Boff’s essay, A Latin American Perspective: The Option for the Poor in the Old Testament, they state, “The Hebrews who came out of Egypt understood that their success had been due to Yahweh, their God, being with them….the clans gradually came to accept Yahweh as their God” (220). “Yahweh had presented himself as a God of the poor, promising their liberation” (226). God loves the poor and wants them to be free. These thoughts prompted the marginalized societies to become more conscious of their social situation. They became activists and became more politically involved.

Just as Womanist Theology grew out of Black Theology, so Mujerista grew out of Liberationist Theology. Latin American women saw themselves as being doubly oppressed. Mujerista grows out of a macho culture, where there is a definite separation between men and women, and their roles. Since these Latin American women were poor and females, society worked against them in two ways. These women work for justice and peace, not just for equality, but to change the oppressive society they live in. Personal and political ethics need to be combined. When they are separated, they breed oppression, which is what Liberationist theologies try to work against.