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What is Liberation Theology?

Liberation Theology Advocates Preferential Option for the Poor

Social Sin, Unjust Structures, Preferential Option for the Poor

Three terms popularly used by those who advocate liberation theology are: social sin, unjust structures, and preferential option for the poor.

Social sin, as contrasted to personal sin, is a sin that involves a a system, an institution, or a structure.
Unjust structures, are those systems that oppress the poor and cause them to be marginalized in society; unjust structures are the concretization of social sin.
Preferential option for the poor, refers to the practice of the Christian faith as shown and exemplified by Jesus' solidarity with the outcasts of society - the poor and those marginalized by unjust structures.

Christian involvement in the world
Liberation theology is a theological movement which came after the Second Vatican Council. Since the Second Vatican Council advocated for a greater involvement of the Church in the world, proponents of liberation theology saw that the Church needed to make a stance towards elements and systems in the world that are unjust and thus oppress people, especially the poor. Those who are strong advocates of liberation theology take as their Scriptural foundation the Exodus experience in the Old Testament and the passage in Luke 4:16-22, when Jesus addresses the synagogue - telling the people that He was sent to 'bring the good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives, and to the blind new sight, to set the downtrodden free, to proclaim the Lord's year of favour.'

Liberation theology and its proponents

Those who advocate liberation theology and those who are at the forefront in promoting and practicing its ideals usually are immersed in a situation where they truly see that the poor in their society are not given preferential option by their political system. Thus, those who are very much into this ideology come from the Southern hemisphere of our world where there is more poverty and marginalization being experienced by many people. Although, in itself, the ideals of liberation theology is based very much on what the Scripture tells us, there is an element in the teaching of this theology which the Church still needs to study and to make further and much discernment. This element which the Church is particularly cautious about is the advocacy of a certain amount of force in order to liberate the poor from their oppressed situation. Let us further explore what this element of force is about.

Proportionate and right amount of force needed for liberation

Those who are very much into liberation theology, believe that when the people in a society are already very much oppressed, then it is justified to use a proportionate amount or a just use of force that would be necessary to remove the unjust political system or structure that is oppressing the people. This is what the Church is cautious about when it comes to the practice of this aspect of liberation theology. Because, this right amount of force or just use of force or proportionate amount of force is really a use of violence to remove the social sin or unjust structure. Conservative thinkers in the Church believe that this just use of force will only increase the spiral of violence already being made. As has been always the conservative stance of the Church, violence must never be used in whatever form it takes.

Active non-violent protest as a Catholic stand against unjust structures

What the Church sees as still within the range of Catholic action is the staging of active non-violent protests against unjust systems and structures. This active non-violent protests can be in the form of peaceful demonstrations or prayer rallies and vigils, or peaceful lobbying with those in key positions in politics to see the stand of the Catholic Church. Active non-violent protest can be in the form of speaking out in behalf of the poor. It can mean being the spokesman for the simple and poor peasants. Whatever form the active non-violent protest may take, it should always be in relation to defending the rights of people - especially with regard to laborers or fisherfolks or peasants or any of those who belong to the masses that are being injured or harmed by a certain system or structure. This active non-violent stand of the Church is in a way a practicing of the prophetic mission and ministry of the Jesus who also was very much in solidarity with the situation of the poor of His time and did all that was necessary to defend their rights before the powers of His time.