Befrielseteologin i Latinamerika och Afrika. Om Gustavo Gutierrez och Jean-Marc Elas teologi

Abstract

I have chosen to investigate the relationship between Latin American- and African Liberation Theologies. My purpose is to analyze, understand and compare the similarities and differences between the two. The bulk of the study addresses two Liberationists, Gustavo Gutiérrez from Latin America and Jean-Marc Ela from Africa, both of whom are considered by many to be the most important theologians on their continents. This is done with the aim of deepening the knowledge of other theologies which have also influenced present day theological thinking. The questions I pose concern Liberation Theology in general, its background and its history. I will journey through Latin American and African church history in order to understand the contexts in which these two theologies have arisen. Context is very important in this paper, including aspects such as history, geography, culture and language. Important documents that have been decisive for the growth of Liberation Theology will also be presented and analysed, namely documents from the Second Vatican Council and from the Bishop Conference in Medellin CELAM II. The relationship between Marxism and Liberation Theology, a controversial issue, will also be addressed. Important and obvious questions concerning what characterizes the theologies of Gustavo Gutiérrez and Jean-marc Ela will be addressed along the way. I will describe, analyse and compare their respective theologies, and this will lead to the conclusions presented in the last chapter. A hermeneutic method will accompany me on my journey. Alvesson and Sköldberg call this method a reconstruction between alethic hermeneutics and objectifying hermeneutics. Texts by a number of different theologians will be analysed. In addition to the aforementioned Gutiérrez and Jean-Marc Ela, I will take advantage of texts by theologians such as Juan José Tamayo, Deane William Ferm, Amanda Peralta and several others, as well as historians such as Douglas Jacobsen and José Uriel Patiño Franco.