A Study On Early Liberation Theology In Latin American Context

Unlike previous studies, deliberately emphasize the purely religious or Marxist nature of liberation theology in Latin America, or try to explain liberation theology in Latin America from the perspective of the former Soviet Union and Eastern textbook model of Marxism philosophy, this paper attempts to stress on the Contextual attribute of liberation theology in Latin America by analyzing the specific conditions in which it was born and understanding the main ideas with the theory of Marxism as a reference so as to confirm that liberation theology is a rational choice made by Latin Americans, and to provide a more reasonable approach for the research.This paper consists of four parts:the first part talks about the special social and cultural background in which liberation theology in Latin America was born, and the history of the development so as to give a all-sided and deepgoing introduction to liberation theology in Latin America, and emphasize its Contextual attribute from the macro and objective aspects.The second part introduces five representatives of liberation theologists:Camilo Torres in Columbia,Gustavo Gutierrez in Peru,Leonardo Boff in Brazil,Jose Miguez Bonino in Argentina and Jose Porfirio Miranda in Mexico, their main ideas on liberation theology, their basic positions on beliefs and their understanding of Marxism so as to emphasize the Contextual attribute of liberation theology from the micro and subjective aspects.The third part shows the theological nature of the liberation theology in Latin America and its Contextual attribute by understanding the three parts around the core theory Liberation in the liberation theology-the body, means and targets, with Marxism theology as a reference,and try to explain this special value choice from the prospective of outlook on world.The fourth part makes a preliminary evaluation of liberation theology in Latin America based on the first three parts, points out the historical limitations of liberation theology in Latin America in a sympathetic and understanding way on the basis of the three characteristics liberation theology is not a whole,most Latin Americans believe in Catholic,liberation theology in Latin America is theology-pointing,and affirms its indelible accademic value:it carries forward the great character of keeping pace with the times,in its special own way liberation theology in Latin America explains the Marxist stand,viewpoints and methods that are neglected by Marxists themselves and professional researchers on Marxism,reflects the Marxist spirits in true religion.At last,this part puts forward ten thoughts on relevant questions,providing references for further research.