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130 C Caribbean Theology An Anglophone Caribbean Perspective Understanding Caribbean theology can be facilitated by a comparative study of the Latin American theology of liberation . Liberation theology, as formulated by its Latin American proponents, has its genesis in certain historical circumstances similar to those experienced by the peoples of the Caribbean territories. Liberation theology evolved as the theological reflection on the liberating hopes, activities, and expectations of and on behalf of the suffering masses of people. As the developmental model for dealing with the socioeconomic problems of these states became ineffective in eradicating the depressing conditions of the poor, a new model was sought. It became evident that radical social transformation or liberation from the dictates of capitalist underdevelopment was a necessity.There was the felt need to break with the dependency syndrome created through centuries of colonialism and neocolonialism as well as with the domination of the economy by a local bourgeoisie who were viewed as agents of the multinational conglomerates of the rich northern European and American states.Thus liberation from underdevelopment, as well as from political, cultural, and military control and influence, became an issue for Latin American peoples. This liberation is also an issue for those in the Caribbean, more specifically, the Anglophone Caribbean. And though there are many points of difference between Latin America, Latin-American Caribbean countries, and other Caribbean territories, the main socioeconomic conditions that were instrumental in the development of liberation theology in Latin America are also present in the Caribbean territories. Indeed, the basic principles of Latin American liberation theology are operative in the Caribbean situation. To this end, I will first outline these principles before entering a discussion on the development of a Caribbean theology of liberation. liBeration theology In the 1960s the Roman Catholic Church and Protestant churches in Latin America became involved in and concerned about the alleviation of the suffering, injustice, and inequality experienced by the poor in its constituencies (see Protestantism). Some felt that the solution lay in approaching the issue from the standpoint of the poorest. A church in the service of the status quo was questioned. Sensitivity to the facts and consequences of history led to a theology concerned about the liberation of societies from the grip of poverty, injustice, inequality, and dependence. Liberation theology became the theological reflection on conscientization (consciousness raising) and action among the poorest in the society. Juan Luis Segundo put it this way: “a liberative theology must of necessity be an historical theology grounded on the questions that well up from the present. . . . [S]imple logic tells us that only a Christian community that is keenly sensitive to history can provide the basis for such liberation theology. Attention to the signs of times is the theological criterion, which sets off a theology of liberation from a conservative, academic theology” (Segundo 1976, 40) (see Christianity). What is of significance here is the affirmation that theology is an activity that emerges out of the urgent demands of real life. To this end Segundo used the idea of the hermeneutic circle as part of the methodology of a theology of liberation in that “each new reality obliges us to interpret the word of God afresh, to change reality accordingly, and then go back and reinterpret the word of God again and so on” (Segundo 1976, 8). A theology that is keenly sensitive to the historical context of the theologian is directed by certain basic assumptions. In the first place, it emphasizes that the stress on individual salvation confined to a world beyond the present is a distortion of the teachings of Jesus. A theology of liberation insists upon the full and integrated liberation of the human situation beginning with the present. Considering the current ecological crisis, this includes the liberation of the natural world under human bondage. In this regard, the traditional separation of a supernatural realm from the historical order must be denied when considering the salvific act(s) of God. Instead, the grace of God is seen as being active through a single historical process to elevate, liberate, and transform human life. This methodology can be translated so as to address the human realities, struggles, and ideological tendencies present in Anglophone Caribbean society and forms the historical context of a theology of liberation for the Caribbean. colonialisM and liBeration The present Caribbean societies have been in the making for the past five centuries, beginning with the arrival of Christopher Columbus. During the colonial period the nonEuropean races were considered to...
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