bullet summary: liberation theology and marx

intro

• archbishop of san salvador oscar romero was shot and killed while celebrating mass in a city chapel
• the day before he had given an influential radio sermon pleading with the soldiers as christians not to exploit and murder the poor
• this branded him as a communist and a rebel
• his martyrdom continued to inspire many to fight against injustice and exploitation in latin america and beyond.
• romero was not a liberation theologian but what he stood and died for is at the heart of it
• what makes it controversial is its active engagement with a sociological and political analysis of society and outspoken critique of secular culture as well as the church
• it grew out of the political, social and pastoral situation of 60s/70s latin america, when the gap between rich and poor was very wide
• the poor lived in shanty towns overlooked by the luxury apartments of the rich
• there was no sewage system, infant mortality was high and there were gangs
• el salvador is still one of the most violent countries, with one murder an hour
• romero was conservative and cautious about the politicisation of theology but changed his mind after the murder of a close friend who stood up for the poor
• his conscience dictated that to follow christ’s example he had to abandon political neutrality and stand up for the justice that eventually got him killed
• those who taught liberation theology were considered anti-government terrorists

marx and liberation theology

contextual theology

• contextual theology is a type of theology by which theologians reflect on a specific situation in light of experience and within the christian tradition
• in responding to the plight of the poor politically and spiritually, liberation theology is self-consciously a contextual theology
• the first step in liberation theology is to deal with the oppression and injustice and the second step is to reflect theologically
• by placing the need of the poor before official church teaching, it has often been regarded as radical and dangerous by church and state authorities

challenge to western secularism

• criticism of traditional theology has led to lib theos critiquing culture and its secular tendency to prioritise material matters over spiritual ones
• liberation theologians think its right for the church to be involved in the material conditions of society
• they think that god created the world, matter and spirit so they are all parts of the same reality
• it would be wrong to separate politics and religion
• it has therefore been called a ‘bottom-up’ theology because it starts with the material conditions of the poor and exploited, and works up to the church teachings
• these are the same conditions that karl marx found unacceptable and inhumane
• he was an atheist, but his economic and sociological analysis of the conditions which led to the alienation and exploitation of the poor are useful to the liberation theologians
• many have been critical of the church and other institutions which impose laws rather than work for those who can’t tackle injustice

marx’s teaching on alienation and exploitation

• marx’s idea is that that all processes of the world are governed by physical material forces
• humans contribute to the material conditions of the world and are affected by them
• when the two are in harmony people feel useful and productive, but marx states that history shows that we don’t have long periods of stability
• every moment is a material process working towards harmony, which then collapses and is rebuilt
• this process is called historical materialism, which is marx’s view of the world
• marx’s aim was to investigate the causes of social instability, and shared in some of jean rousseau‘s assumptions that there was a stage in a ‘state of nature’ when families all shared in the means of production without exploitation
• the initial cause of disharmony is not clear but was probably the result of disputes over land ownership.

god and religion

• marx argued a major cause of alienation is belief in god
• he rejected god being the driving force of history
• the material forces of history are blind and belief that god controls history is a false-consciousness and leads to false hopes and illusions
• he place of religion gives power to the state to control the population using the excuse of god’s natural order meaning some are rulers and some servants
• they say if this is unfair it will be sorted in the afterlife and equal in heaven
• this is why marx wanted the abolition of religion to start the overcoming of exploitation and alienation
• next to religion, marx says capitalism is also a major source of alienation
• in his vision of society he imagined everyone would willingly share resources and intellectual goods
• but capitalism’s competitive nature means this is impossible; the alternative is communism.

means of production

• one of the primary causes of exploitation is ownership of the means of production
• as marx argues, in a capitalist society the production of goods matters and everyone becomes dehumanised
• this is especially true for the worker who has no control and is merely an ‘appendage of the machine’
• a factory worker has no creative input, he is alienated and hates his work. even when he receives pay, he is controlled by the bourgeoisie who own the shops where he spends his money and the home he pays rent for.

bourgeoisie and proletariat

• in his analysis of history mars observed that at various times the exploited have realised their position is not ordained by god and have attempted to free themselves
• such moments have been met with violent oppression by those who fear their power will be lost
• for marx this was most prevalent in the industrial revolution
• he named the two classes the bourgeoisie and the proletariat

praxis

• praxis is one of the most important ideas derived from historical materialism
• it is the belief that as history is constantly changing, then humans have the ability to understand the material conditions of any situation and change them
• praxis is analysing the situation which has oppression, work out what caused it and then change it
• the problem with philosophy, marx says, is that is analyses and does not change anything
• liberation theologians agree, that philosophy is too abstract and the point is for it to change the world not merely think about it

liberation theology’s use of marx

• lib theos and marx agree that even though human nature is intrinsically good, it is the source of human misery
• marxism explains this tension through historical and material conditions
• lib theo finds marx’s analysis helpful as it refocuses theology on the world, not abstract terms. this shows how it has been used as a device
• almost no liberation theologian would argued that marx is essential for christianity, because that would suggest christianity was defective until marx. but there are varied ways in which marx has been used
• some make explicit use of him, while others use him just to analyse an economic situation
• some find his language and concepts useful for re-thinking basic christian ideas
• marx is an instrument for theology

historical materialism and reversal

• marx’s central idea of historical materialism establishes lib theo as a contextual theology by being a bottom-up theology
• as marx argued, once we see how history has developed its material and economic basis, we can understand what institutions are based on
• once these are understood we are in the position to reform these structures bottom up
• many lib theos find this analysis very useful
• the idea of reversal can be seen in the argument that theology should begin with the condition of the poor as the underside of history rather than the top down abstract doctrines such as the nature of god
• start with the actual human experience of suffering, alienation and hope
• in this way christian historical materialists argue the kingdom of god isn’t heaven but a transformation of material society based on christian values.

critique of capitalism

• marxist analysis is most useful in a situation of injustice when a church leader needs to reflect on the causes, who the oppressors are, who owns the means of production and ideologies supporting it
• all injustices can be traced back to the inherent unfairness of capitalism which creates an exploited lower class
• lib theos share the marxist idea that humans are designed to work and be productive, so failing to share the means of production is a source of alienation and exploitation
• so marx is often presented in the same prophetic tradition which attacked the social and economic conditions which exploited the poor
• josé porfirio miranda use marx’s suspicion of private ownership or property for the basis of his lib theo
• for marx it is a root cause of injustice because it gives the owner the idea that he can treat workers as objects
• this is his principle that alienation and oppression comes when humans objectify the world and treat it as their possession
• miranda argues this is important and brings insight into a biblical idea which has been recovered by marx
• but once it is recovered, miranda argues it is even more radical than marx:
  • human nature: marxism has underestimated the insight of biblical writers that capitalism is due to human sin
  • idolatry: marx fails to give an adequate explanation for the causes because he rejects god. the answer is in the command against idolatry, which warns against treating god as an object. the abandonment of this command is why the world has been treated badly and capitalism has been worshipped instead.

the church and the people’s church

• the meeting of latin american bishops in puebla in 1979 marked a significant moment in lib theo
• one of the key terms was integral liberation, showing it was a part of all aspects of church life
• puebla reinforced the view that it is the duty of the church to deal with economic conditions which create unjust structures as well as personal sin
• it also called for integral liberation to involved ordinary people as part of the church decision-making process
• this is the notion of the people’s church. it was controversial because it recognised that for the poor, the church was no more than an extension of the state
• puebla shared the marxist suspicion that institutions give power to the few over the many
• its call for the people’s church challenged the essence of the church because it wanted the church to be a community founded on love and solidarity

praxis, social sin and alienation

• lib theos share marx’ notion that it is we who can change society
• it is not to be forgotten or left as god’s will for the world

praxis

• in the life of romero we see that theology cannot be a purely personal and theoretical subject
• the gospel and jesus’ example show that christian life must include action against injustice and support for the marginalised
• they support marx’s idea that the purpose of philosophy is not merely to think about it but to change it
• for praxis to be effective, some analysis is needed of the social, economic, and political conditions that have caused injustice
• theology doesn’t have the tools to do this analysis and this is why marx is used as a sociological system which does offer the means for explaining the causes

social sin and alienation

• marxism provides a way of re-thinking christian notions of sin in material terms
• sin traditionally means disobedience of god’s will, but liberation theologians rethink this in terms of structures in society
• liberation theologians refer to this sin as structural sin
• ‘when humans sin, they create structures of sin, which in their turn, make human beings sin’. – jose faus
• structural sin means humans are alienated from each other because they do not recognise each other as humans
• it is a deeply ingrained form of social alienation in which the whole of society is dehumanised
• faus illustrates how structural sin in latin america, based on the false truth of capitalism that human beings have no worth and the false truth of communism that humans are enemies, led to the situation in mexico city when, after an earthquake, owners saved their machinery from the rubble before the workers
• liberation theologians argue this collective sense of sin is already contained in the doctrine of original sin
• sin cannot exist in isolation, it exists because humans are fallen and corrupt
• understanding structural sin helps lib theo apply a hermeneutic of suspicion
• for example applied to jesus’ encounter with a rich man, the usualy interpretation is that he is a good man but is unable to give his money to the poor because of his personal sin
• the traditional teaching was that he is not wrong to have wealth but the test was how he used it
• lib theo questions this as it favour capitalism and reduces sin to the individual rather than part of a wider social system of injustice
• the hermeneutic of suspicion asks how the man became rich, says that be probably owns the means of production of the poor
• he must have stolen and lied to the poor by perpetuating a system of sin
• he can’t have been a good man because he broke god’s covenant to honour and protect the poor
• although using marx is not necessarily to apply this suspicion, using him as a companion to it reveals new challenges

should theology engage with marxism?

• to what extent have lib theos used marx as a means of analysing poverty and oppression?
• while some explicitly used marx as a tool for analysis, others, like gustavo gutierrez, are far more guarded
• over time he makes it clear that christianity and marx cannot be combined despite common ground.
• gutierrez’s hesitancy might be due to criticism from the vatican against lib theo because marxism is an atheistic political system
• others believe the two have a lot in common and the relationship should be encouraged and developed

too much engagement with marxism

• in 1984 a document was released, ‘instruction on certain aspects of the ‘theology of liberation”
• the core of it was an outspoken critique of marxism, and also lib theo
• at first is is sympathetic to those theologies which use liberation to mean justice should prevail in the defence of the weak
• it is deeply critical of others which have been ‘insufficiently critical’ of marxism
• although positive about the place of liberation in theology, instruction is critical of the limitations made:
  • liberation in christianity is about the liberation from sin, not economic conditions
  • there are many kind of freedom other than political freedom
  • lib theo places too much emphasis on the temporal or political liberation, not enough on human sin
  • it is reductionists because it equates salvation with praxis and revolution, not god’s grace
  • it makes truth exclusive to those who practice a certain kind of praxis
• it is for these reasons that oscar romero was also critical
• for him liberation must be spiritual and then practical, and too much of marxist materialism undermines christianity

too little engagement with marxism

• alistair kee‘s these is that the vatican’s criticism of too much use of marx is almost entirely wrong
• in his view the problem is that even those who used marx critically have done
• without tackling marx’s fundamental premise that criticism of religion is equally a criticism of all ideologies
• kee’s point is that lib theos cannot pick and choose bits they find helpful and avoid their basic premise
• kee’s argument can see contradictory. why would lib theos embrace marx’s atheism?
• kee argues that despite his atheism, marx’s historical materialism relies on a strongly spiritual sense in which each age gives way to the next for sake of progress and betterment
• marx may have tried to justify this in physical terms but science does not support him, because historical materialism is an ideology, so the two are not so different as christianity believes it is god who drives this
• the value of historical materialism, which christian theology should take more seriously, is that every new age needs a re-assessment of beliefs and ideas
• if christianity is to survive as a radical force in the next stage, its task is to consider how to tackle the present mindset of secular capitalism
• kee argues lib theo is too conservative to do this and thus it has failed
• kee concludes that lib theo has lost the opportunity to tackle secularism
• although marx was an atheist, this does not mean the next stage of historical materialism should be secular
• a more radical progression would be to suggest that the next stage after secular capitalism could be spiritual socialism

liberation theology’s teaching on the preferential option for the poor

• in addition to the theme of integral liberation, the meeting at puebla developed an idea which is now standard catholic teaching, the preferential option for the poor
• it is not aimed at the poor but those who are in a privileged position to act in solidarity with them against exploitation
• preference is aimed at all these christians and have this power
• option means solidarity is a free act including discarding feelings of arrogance and superiority
• in this way the church becomes radically egalitarian

theological motivations for a preferential option

• the boff brothers outline five theological motivations that justify this:
• theological motivation: focuses on the god of the bible as a living god who is immanent and involved in human history. god hears the cry of his people in exodus and seeks justice. the church must imitate this.
• christological: jesus sided with the poor and acted in solidarity with those who were marginalised by society.
• eschatological: the moment when god judges the world will be based on if a person has sided with the poor, according to the parable of sheep and goats in matthew.
• apolostolic: after jesus’ death the first apostles organised christian groups to raise money for the poor. they did not distinguish based on faith.
• ecclesiological: all members of the church should as a matter of faith seek the transformation of society.

revolution and solidarity with the poor

• in the marxist material view of history, circumstances evolve to provide moments, so those who can read the signs of time and recognise the moment can force history to move on
• revolution is necessary because there will always be reactionary forces who impede change
• in marxism, revolution does not begin with the oppressed but with the philosophers who interpret the world and act in solidarity to organise change
• marx’s view was that the only way of changing the situation of exploitation is through violent means, if others failed
• the preferential option for the poor is indebted to marx as it awakens the conscience of those in power to for the church into a class struggle against injustice
• inspired by jesus the liberator, theologians point to his example of siding with the poor to prepare for the kingdom of god, which is not an abstract utopia because as marx pointed out, that is a false promise
• boff refers tot he kingdom of god as a place in which the existing social conditions have been transformed
• liberation theologians have been persuaded that the capitalist status quo will not change easily but most are reluctant to use violent means
• an exception is camilo torres restrepo who argued that words without action are empty and if this meant revolution or violence then it was a sign of faith to be involved
• as a priest his decision to join the guerillas was shocking, daring and inspirational
• so for liberation theologians it is right for christians to prioritise one group over the other

orthodoxy and orthopraxis

• fundamental to lib theo is the distinction between right action and right teaching
• some summarise the relationship of orthopraxis and orthodoxy as the idea that feeding the poor should come before urging them to obey church teaching
• the point here is that a good christian made by being a good human as well as church attendance and loyalty
• a preferential option for the poor is not a theological endeavour but a human project
• in practice it is not simple as it is not action alone but also the relationship between beliefs and practice
• orthopraxis as developed by the church operates in two steps

first act praxis

• this is pre-theological, beginning not with doctrine but the simple realisation that human injustice and exploitation are wrong
• first act praxis begins when christians act in solidarity with the poor, live alongside them as humans and learn about the conditions which have led to this
• the boff brothers write that church workers may act by visits, alternating scholarly work and pastoral care or living permanently with them
• although this is not a theological stage it would be wrong to say that it lacks a theological motivation
• those who opt on the side of the poor do so because they recognise that christ was part of human life and brought joy out of suffering.
• first act praxis is closely related to the parable of the sheep and goats in matthew, when jesus praises those who has acted in faith by feeding the poor, giving water to the sick, visiting prisoners and caring for the sick

second act praxis: the three mediations

• although second act praxis is the most theoretical spect of liberation theology, its origins are practical and pastoral
• gutierrez says that theology starts when the day is done, requiring reflection
• he says ‘theology does not produce pastoral activity, rather reflects on it’
• in the 50s parish priests were already developing their own strategies to provide for the poor through the process of seeing, judging and acting
• these form the three mediations, or distinctive phases of theological praxis at the heart of lib theo

socio-analytical mediation: seeing

• the first mediation is about analysing and understanding the socio-economic reasons for oppression in a particular situation
• when latin american lib theos were developing their theology and a scepticism of capitalism led to suspicion of any free market
• these systems were seen as fundamental causes of poverty and injustice
• the first mediation favours a socialist critique of the situation
• some theologians specifically used marx for this while others implied it through their language
• for example marx highlights different ways in which people can think about poverty’s causes and solutions, and the boff brothers offer three:
  • empirical poverty: viewing poverty as a result of vice, laziness and ignorance. this is weak because the solution is giving aid which treats them as objects of pity
  • functional poverty: viewing poverty as a result of backwardness. this is typical of liberal capitalists who help by loans and development aid. this it can make the situation worse by creating a dependency of the poor on the rich rather than dealing with the structural poverty.
  • dialectical poverty: viewing poverty as a result of oppression. marxist analysts think poverty is the result of exploitation, exclusion from the process of production and priority of capital over people. tackling this requires revolutionary confrontation with the oppressive social conditions and structures.
• the socio-economic mediation also broadens the notion of the poor to refer to all those who are oppressed and marginalised because of social prejudices such a racism, sexism and ageism

hermeneutical mediation: judging

• this is the most explicitly theological part of the process. having analysed the causes, the task of hermeneutical mediation is to reflect on it in a christian perspective
• what would god have to say?
• lib theos use the bible as the primary source of the word of god and it offers many insights from history which can be reinterpreted
• reading the bible from the experience of the poor produces new interpretations, and providing the poor with opportunities to interpret the bible helps them to know challenges, their spiritual and political situation.
• the boff brothers say the primary aim of liberation theologians is to favour application rather than explanation
• using the example of the rich man, the poor recognise the rich man as a typical rich landlords who perpetuates injustice while they may have seemed to keep the commandments
• the theologian may offer background on landowners in galilee at the time of jesus
• reflection might notes that jesus did not ask the ruler to give his money but transform his life
• this might in turn inspire the poor to see that god sides with them and they should persist in their quest for justice

practical mediation: acting

• the first moment of action comes when you side with the poor in solidarity
• having analysed the socio-economic situation and through theological reflection, those involved are obliged to act, which is practical mediation
• action requires a change of mind and material conditions, not just reform

critique

• many critics point out that the first mediation is the only truly important step. if action is required to change an unjust situation in a community, economic analysis is more appropriate that reading the bible
• but if the second mediation is removed then the process is not really christian and the spiritual value of the bible becomes powerless
• if this is the case then liberation theology crumbles. perhaps it cannot change the world