Latin American Theology: Roots and Branches

by Maria Clara Bingemer

With the emergence of liberation theology in the 1970s, Latin American theology made a bold entrance on the world scene. The immediate roots of this theology were in the efforts of the Latin American bishops at the 1968 Medellin Conference to reflect on the implications of the Second Vatican Council for a continent marked by poverty and social injustice. That conference charted a new "preferential option for the poor," and fostered a new method of theology, rooted in the experience and perspective of those on the margins. In subsequent years, many theologians, church leaders, and pastoral workers elaborated this theology, both in academic works and in grassroots practice. But in recent years the question was raised whether liberation theology had run its course. The election of Pope Francis, a pope from Argentina who was critically shaped by the social, cultural, and theological currents of his continent, offers a new occasion to review this history. Maria Clara Bingemer a key protagonist in the development of Latin American theology, offers here a succinct summary of Latin American theology, past and present. In particular, she shows how this theology has grown and continues to adapt to new challenges, extending beyond a concern for socio-economic poverty, to address questions of gender, race, and ethnicity, concern for the environment, and dialogue with other religious traditions. Addressing new contexts and historical conditions, Latin American theologians continue in new ways and with new language to address the question of suffering and to foster hope that another world is possible. Book jacket.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1626981841
• ISBN13: 9781626981843
• Release Date: May 2016
• Publisher: Orbis Books
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.3" x 8.1"