Introduction

In this paper, The researcher will bring on the topic of Liberation Theology.
Liberation theology mainly focuses on the poor community. In the 19 th century, this
movement was very emerged to bring the betterment for the future of poor community.
Here researcher will discuss briefly.
1. Liberation Theology
The theology of liberation combines elements of some biblical themes with
Marxist theory. The “axis of the oppressor and the oppressed” is used to suggest that we
should rethink all of Christian theology. 1 The theology of Liberation developed in the
1960s in Latin America to argue for the liberation of various groups primarily the poor,
the black community, and women from economic and political bondage. It starts with a
Roman Catholic Bishops of Latin America calling a meeting in 1968 known as CEELAM
II. For these theologians, it is not enough to support the oppressed; one must be
committed to social movements, even revolutions, dedicated to overturning the structures
of society. For this purpose, liberation theologians adopt Marxism as an “analytical tool,”
with which they make radical revisions to every traditional Christian doctrine.2
The theology of liberation became quite pervasive in the last half of the twentieth
century. Liberation theology has become a general name for several different movements:
Latin-American, African-American, and Feminist. In 1971 Gustavo Gutierrez wrote a
book regarding Liberation Theology which he named “Theology of Liberation”.
According to Gustavo, The starting point of Liberation Theology is a commitment to the
poor, the non-person.3 Similar types of Theology can be seen in the context of Racism in
South Africa, Dalit Theology in India Minjung Theology in South Korea, and
Palestinians Liberation Theology.
Liberation theology was the political practice of Latin American theologians such
as Gustavo Gutiérrez of Peru, Leonardo Boff of Brazil, Juan Luis Segundo of Uruguay,
and Jon Sobrino of Spain in the 1950s and 1960s, who popularized the phrase
"Preferential option for the poor." The liberation theologians do devote considerable
energy to the question of why Jesus himself did not engage in political action during his
1
John M. Frame, “Liberation Theology” https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/liberation-
theology/ (01 Sept. 2023)
2
Swarup Bar, Introduction to Christian Theology (Kolkata: SCEPTRE, 2021), 104.
3
Swarup Bar, Introduction to Christian Theology…, 104.
earthly ministry. Gutierrez points out that Jesus had friends among the Zealot
revolutionaries4
2. Liberation Theology of 19th Century
Liberal theology arose as a result of Enlightenment thought and developed in the
setting of scientific advancements like as evolution and an increasing desire for
Christianity to be relevant to modern thinking. Classical liberal Protestantism emerged in
Germany in the nineteenth century, emphasizing the necessity to reconstruct Christian
faith in light of modern science. The roots of German liberalism can also be found in the
French Revolution (1789-1790) and turn-of-the-century idealism. The intellectual and
political concepts that evolved during this time period influenced not only the secular
climate but also theological thought.5The term “liberal” refers to theologians in the
tradition of F.D. Schleiermacher (1768-1834) and Paul Tillich (1886-1965) who stressed
the relationship or correlation of Christianity to the experience and cultures of the
specific world and period.
Within the liberalism tradition, there were two distinct but linked branches, one
theological and the other Biblical. The former was an attempt to undermine conventional
Christian ideas, whereas the latter questioned the Bible's validity, historicity, and divine
inspiration. Its principal authors argued that serious reconstructions of belief are required
in order for the Christian faith to remain relevant to modern thought. Reconstruction was
accomplished by either rejecting outmoded principles or reinterpreting them in light of
the current situation.6
3. Standard Liberalism
Liberalism denotes the facet of theology that evolved as a result of philosophers'
and scientists' rationalism and experimentalism. Liberalism values human reason and
scientific discoveries; anything that contradicts reason and science is to be disregarded.
As a result, liberalism has rejected ancient Christian concepts that deal with miracles and
the supernatural, such as Christ's incarnation, physical resurrection, and so on. Unlike

4
M. Stephen, New Trend in Christian Theology (New Delhi: Serials Publications, 2009), 23.
5
Swarup Bar, Introduction to Christian Theology…, 76.
6
Swarup Bar, Introduction to Christian Theology…, 77.
liberalism, modernism emphasizes scientific results, aiming to reconcile science and the
Bible, as in the instance of Harry Emerson Fosdick.7
4. Doctrinal Affirmation of Standard Liberalism
4.1. Bibliology
Bibliology Liberals saw the Bible as a regular book, not divinely inspired in any
sense. Higher critics examined the Bible’s writings from a human perspective, aiming to
identify human factors concerning authorship, date, and underlying sources. They were
indifferent, for example, to established conceptions of Pauline authorship. As a result, the
books of the Bible were often late-dated, and traditional beliefs on authorship were
commonly challenged.
In the Bible, the evolutionary concept was applied to religious development, so
that instead of recognizing Israel's religion as a divine revelation, it was merely
considered as a human development of religion. Thus, in the Old Testament, Israel's
religion was considered as a “blood-thirsty religion,” and later, it was viewed as inferior
to the “higher ethics of Jesus.” Thus, the seeming disagreement between the Old and New
Testaments could be explained by religious evolution.8
4.2. Theology Proper
The immanence of God was emphasized by liberalism, which taught that God is
everywhere and in everything. Pantheism (God is everything) is the extreme outcome of
God's immanence. God was seen in action everywhere in liberal doctrine, including
nature and the evolutionary process. As a result, there was no need for miracles. As a
result, liberals refused to discern between the natural and the supernatural.9
4.3. Antropology
Scripture's and divine revelation's authority was rejected. Human reason was
elevated above Scripture and established doctrines. The Bible needed to be
comprehended rationally. The Bible was to be disregarded if it contained stories that were
intellectually disagreeable to human understanding. As a result, the Bible's miracles were

7
Paul Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology: Revised and Expanded (Hyderabad: Good
Shephard Book, 2022), 587.
8
Paul Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology: Revised and Expanded…, 590-591.
9
Paul Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology: Revised and Expanded…, 591.
rejected. Because theology was to be practical, human reason and religious experience
were merged to replace divine revelation and the authority of Scripture.
4.4. Soteriology
The emphasis on personal salvation from eternal punishment was discarded as
irrelevant in liberalism's quest to be relevant. Liberalism, with its hopeful inclination,
resolved to bring in the kingdom via human labor; hence, the social gospel became its
theme. God's kingdom was not some future, supernatural age, but rather the here and now
through the application of Jesus' ideals and ethics.10
5. Liberation Theology of India
South American Liberation Theology emerged in the 1960s-70s. Liberation
theology is the attempt to discern the action of God’s history and collaboration with it by
transforming the world.
Other Continents, such as Asia and Africa, are seeing similar theological changes
to South America's liberation theology. As a result, we cannot claim that all Liberation
theologies were directly impacted by South American Liberation theology. Three names
stand out among those who attempted to formulate an Indian theology of liberation:
Sebastian Kappen, Samuel Rayan, and George M. Soares-Prabhu. The last two are well-
known Bible scholars who attempted to interpret God's Word in the Bible in light of the
actual Indian setting. The people's poverty and misery, social difficulties such as the caste
system and the exclusion of Dalits, Tribals, and women, and the Indian people's inherent
religion were the contexts in which they produced their biblical reflections and
interpretations.11
Sebastian Kappen made a significant contribution to Indian liberation theology.
Participation in the lives and struggles of oppressed people, critical study of Marxism.
Constant connection with social activists, communication with individuals of other
religions and ideologies, and acquaintance with diverse streams of western philosophies
and theology equipped him with the skills he needed to explore and articulate an Indian
liberation theology. His solid belief was that all resources from all religions, cultures,

10
Paul Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology: Revised and Expanded…, 591.
11
Kuncheria Pathil and Dominic Veliath, An Introduction to Theology (Bengaluru: Theological
Publications, 2019), 217 – 218.
ideologies, sciences, and technology should be channeled and harnessed for our world's
social transformation and humanization.12
Kappen noted that an Indian Theology of Liberation would be unique in that we
live in a religiously heterogeneous setting that requires collaboration with people of all
religions and ideologies, as well as adequate use of all their resources, not just Christian
ones. His starting point is a new Indian Christology or Jesuology, in which he introduced
Christ and His prophetic protest in continuity with the history of socio-religious
movements of dissent, contestation, and revolt in India, along the lines of Buddha and the
Bhakti tradition, in opposition to Hinduism's sterile Brahmanic ritualism: thus the
relevance of Jesus and the Gospel in our struggles for freedom and a new humanity.13

Conclusion
Through this paper, we come to know liberation theology is very important for the
poor community to improve their education and social Identity, After the Liberation
theology arose the lowest caste community got their identity in social platform.

12
Kuncheria Pathil and Dominic Veliath, An Introduction to Theology…, 218.
13
Kuncheria Pathil and Dominic Veliath, An Introduction to Theology…, 219.
Bibliography
Bar, Swarup. Introduction to Christian Theology Kolkata: SCEPTRE, 2021.
Enns, Paul. The Moody Handbook of Theology: Revised and Expanded. Hyderabad:
Good Shepherd Book, 2022.
Pathil, Kuncheria and Veliath, Dominic. An Introduction to Theology. Bengaluru:
Theological Publications, 2019.
Stephen, M. New Trend in Christian Theology. New Delhi: Serials Publications, 2009.

Webliography
Frame, John M. “Liberation Theology”
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/liberation-theology/ (01 Sept. 2023)