A European Revival of Liberation Theology

W hat should Christianity be saying about global capitalism? The World Council of Churches, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and the Lutheran World Federation have begun a significant exploration of that question. It’s a discussion I hope you will bring into the churches of North America. The conversation doesn’t have to be limited to Christianity, either. What should Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism be saying about global capitalism? It’s a debate to bring into your synagogues, mosques, ashrams, and schools of theology and divinity, and into local secular communities as well, since the issues bear on the entire human race and the survival of the planet. After you develop a perspective on capitalism within your own religious group, you can then—as a community—share your views in the international debate now taking place. The globalreligiouscommunitycouldplayanimportantroleinchallengingthegrowingmaterialism and selfishness that have characterized the growth of a global capitalist worldview. Not surprisingly, the process of creating a joint statement has sparked a rather striking debate among Christians about how explicitly we ought to challenge global capitalism. A group of us European theologians have put forward what we believe to be a rather strong statement of a Christian perspective—one that goes much further than many of our fellow Christians in the Northern hemisphere would choose. The perspective we articulate in “Life in Just Peace,” the joint statement reprinted below, better reflects the views of many Christians in the Southern hemisphere. To speak to some of the concerns that our visionary statement commonly raises among skeptics from the global North, I have constructed a response to an imagined criticism from a North American pastor (see page 78) that channels the type of energy and analysis more common among Christians from the global South. Life in Just Peace A joint statement by a group of twenty-six European initiatives and networks, including Kairos Europe, Pax Christi (German section), INKOTA, Christians for a Just Economic System, Pleading for an Ecumenical Future, Winds from the South, and several regional ecumenical grassroots networks, working together in the “German Ecumenical Network” in preparation for the May 2011 International Ecumenical Peace Convocation in Kingston, Jamaica. Humanity and the earth are undergoing a unique crisis. Above all, this is manifested in the form of the financial and economic crisis, the food crisis, the social crisis (the growing 74 T I K K U N W W W. T I K K U N . O R G W I N T E R 2 0 1 1 Ulrich Duchrow is a professor of systematic theology at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, specialized in ecumenical theology and theology-economy issues. He is also cofounder and moderator of Kairos Europa, an ecumenicalnetworkstrivingforeconomicjustice. A European Revival of Liberation Theology by Ulrich Duchrow Rethinking Religion “Justice,peace,preservationof creation”readsthelogoofthe EcumenicalNetworkin Germany,top.Kairos EuropaandPaxChristi Germanyareamongthe twenty-fiveEuropeangroups tosignontothisradical liberationtheologystatement. gap between those who are becoming poorer and those becoming richer), the energy crisis, the climate crisis, the crisis of the extinction of species and the crisis of increasing violence at all levels—from the family and schools to imperialist wars. The causes of these crises are clearly relatedtothedominantcivilization,whichfromthe“West”hasconqueredtheentireglobeinthe areasofeconomics,politics,ideology,andtheunderstandingofwhatitmeanstobehuman.This crisis is threatening life itself. As we see it, just peace must therefore be understood as leading toward a new culture of life at all levels—from institutional to spiritual life. The necessary turnaround toward a life in just peace includes at least three dimensions: • Aspiritualvisionofanew,emergingcultureoflife basedonfaithorahumanistmotivation. • The fundamental rejection of the dominant economic, political, violence-producing culture and world order for the sake of the integrity of faith and the very being of the church. • Short-, medium-, and long-term steps toward realizing this vision. We therefore present the following declaration, which is based on the biblical message and affirms decisions by the assemblies of ecumenical organizations, inviting all churches, congregations, and Christians to embrace it and to publicly advocate for the implementation of its demands. 1. Which god shall rule? We believe that God created the whole universe in love, inviting all people to cooperate with God’s ongoing creative work in mutual solidarity and respect for God’s gifts. “The...