Bruce: Liberation Theology in Latin America

• What happened in Latin America for social change to be necessary?

  • poor Latin American countries, people lived under military dictatorships
  • some catholic priests - church should fight injustice and stand with the poor - became known at the liberation theology
• How did the liberation theology try to challenge the system according to Bruce?

  • raising class awareness - priests helped the poor people realise their suffering was caused by unfair systems not Gods will - priests acted as 'organic intellectuals' - helping the poor become aware of their injustice
  • supporting resistance movements - organise protests and stood up to military Govs
  • using religious belief as motivation - Jesus was on the side of the poor
• What are the four reasons Bruce says that the Liberation theology was less successful?

  1. lacked church support
  2. failed to mobilise the masses
  3. too politically radical
  4. limited impact
• Why did the lack of church support lead the Liberation Theology to fail?

  • Catholic Church remained conservative
  • priests were silences/removed from positions of influence
  • Pope critiques it for being too political/marxist
  • without support from own institution it would struggle to grow
• Why did failing to mobilise the masses lead the Liberation Theology to fail?

  • lacked string grassroots infrastructure
  • led by a small group of radical clergy rather than widespread
  • people were too afraid to resist violent dictatorship
• Why did the Liberation Theology being too politically radical lead it to fail?

  • challenged capitalism, state power and church authority
  • overthrow unjust systems rather than reform them
  • didn't align with mainstream values
• Why did little impact lead the Liberation Theology to fail?

  raised awareness and give people hope but:

  • military regimes remained in power
  • poverty and inequality persisted

  had more symbolic power than practical results