Appendix C - The Globalization Process and its Challenges to Liberation Theology

Summary

One of the particularities of liberation theology rests on its methodology. (1) It departs from an historical-social reality; (2) it is viewed from the perspective of the victimized; (3) it is then enlightened by the Christian faith; (4) in so doing, it aims at bringing about changes, that is; (5) it aims at rescuing the poor and the oppressed by means of a society that is politically more participative, economically more inclusive, culturally more pluralist and religiously more ecumenical.

What kind of challenges does the process of globalization pose to the kind of religious thinking that emerged in the Third World in the 1970s and that has been embraced worldwide by the ecumenical community?

Let us first enquire into the phenomena of globalization. After this is done, let us identify some challenges to Liberation Theology.

Globalization: A Trend in Anthropogenesis

We are now used to seeing the cosmos as a cosmogenesis, anthropology as anthropogenesis. The human being has been in a process of development for millions of years and this process is not finished yet. There is a tendency in human beings to expand themselves to all corners of the Earth. For this reason human beings were able to adapt themselves to all ecosystems, from the glaciers of Antarctica to the torrid deserts of the Sahara.