The Future of Liberation Theology : An Argument and Manifesto

The Future of Liberation Theology envisions a radical new direction for Latin American liberation theology. One of a new generation of Latin American theologians, Ivan Petrella shows that despite the current dominance of 'end of history' ideology, liberation theologians need not abandon their belief that the theological rereading of Christianity must be linked to the development of 'historical projects' - models of political and economic organization that would replace an unjust status quo. In the absence of historical projects, liberation theology currently finds itself unable to move beyond merely talking about liberation toward actually enacting it in society. Providing a bold new interpretation of the current state and potential future of liberation theology, Ivan Petrella brings together original research on the movement, with developments in political theory, critical legal theory and political economy to reconstruct liberation theology's understanding of theology, democracy and capitalism. The result is the recovery of historical projects, thus allowing liberation theologians to once again place the reality of liberation, and not just the promise, at the forefront of their task. There is a notion amongst some academics that Latin American Liberation Theology has had its day, a dream killed off by the Nicaraguan and Salvadoran revolutions, the 1989 demise of socialism and the "end of history" claims of the champions of capitalism. However in this book Petrella proves this to be an ill-conceived notion, and shows that this theology can be reinvented to bring its preferential option for the poor into the real world. The actualisation of historical projects is possible by adopting the methods developed by the Brazilian champion of critical legal studies, Robert Unger. Doing so will entail the rejection of these theologians' unitary concepts of a despised and rejected capitalism and a canonized and accepted socialism. Petrella argues for a reconstruction of these concepts and those of democracy and property too. He closely analyses the differences in democracy and capitalism as practised across the USA and Europe in support for the reconstruction of these concepts bringing about far-reaching suggestions for the future of liberation theology.

About the Author:
Ivan Petrella is Associate Professor at the University of Miami in Florida, USA

Two hundred years after the publication of Schleiermacher's epoch-making Speeches, The Future of Liberal Theology presents a comprehensive and critical reassessment of the past, present and future of the liberal tradition in Christian theology. In dialogue with the different forms of liberalism emerging from the Enlightenment, each of which is carefully defined, distinguished international theologians draw on a range of perspectives which represent the diversity of liberal theology. Discussing the criticisms of liberalism offered in the twentieth century, and engaging with contemporary theological debate which is often deeply hostile to liberalism, the conclusions offered for liberal theology range from the deeply pessimistic to the thoroughly optimistic. Students, clergy, and theological educators more broadly will value this critical reflection on the current state of theology and suggestions for its future course, together with the serious engagement with issues in theological education, which this book presents. Introduction Liberation theology today : the missing historical project Liberation theology as the construction of historical projects Liberation theology, democracy and historical projects Liberation theology, capitalism and historical projects Liberation theology, institutional imagination and historical projects Liberation theology as the construction of historical projects revisited Conclusion Appendix : The present and future of Latin American liberation theology : a manifesto in eight parts Latin American liberation theology was born at the crossroads of a changing Catholic church and the revolutionary political-economic ferment of the late 1960s and early 1970s.