Why Liberation Theology Developed

Why Liberation Theology Developed

The theology of liberation consists of ideals that show material poverty as a bad thing and spiritual and solidarity poverty as a good thing. It also puts a strong emphasis on helping the poor and idealizes helping the poor as a Christian duty. Latin American liberation theology was the origin of this whole movement and began in Peru through Gustavo Gutierrez. Around the time when the Latin American liberation theology came about, Peru was a very poor country and material poverty was greatly affecting the citizens that lived there. Although Christianity typically attempts to influence those who are monetarily beneficial to go out and help those less fortunate, many don’t often do so. That is why the theology of liberation really emphasizes helping the poor and puts in effect many new rules and religious aspects that will sway those with money to go out and help others and dedicate their lives. Due to this, Peru was a near perfect place for the theology of liberation to blossom since everyone in the area was so poor and needed help. The citizens living there were tired of being so materially poor and tired of the all the greedy government politicians who kept money for themselves. As a result, Latin American liberation theology sought out to help those in material poverty and to bring about spiritual poverty and solidarity poverty. Another reason why Latin American liberation theology developed is that the world has always had a certain type of view on the materially poor. That view being that the materially poor are lucky to be that way since it makes them closer to Jesus and frees them from worldly distractions like material possessions. However, those who are materially poor are miserable and don’t feel blessed at all and that leads them to often blame God. The theology of liberation sought out to stop this ideal and make the general public realize that being materially poor is not a good thing and it should