olic bishops assembled in Medellin, Columbia, in 1968
incorporated the word "liberation" in the official reports
of their conclave, and soon thereafter a full blown
"theology of liberation" appeared in certain Roman Catholic
circles. Liberation theology has become known all over the
world and has come to be a synonym for contextualized Latin
American theology (Hoeferkamp 194 5).
Critic Bokenkotter cites the faith of liberation theology as conceived in "historical praxis of liberation," noting along with others that praxis is a Marxian concept referring to "the conscious effort to transform social reality and make the world more human. The liberation theologians agree with Marx that any interpretation of the Gospel that does not aim at revolutionary action to overcome the alienation of the worker is itself a factor in upholding an unjust order" (Bokenkotter 37). In other words, liberation theology identifies itself with the historically poor and oppressed of the world and argues on their behalf and in the name of theological enlightenment what may be broadly termed a redress of grievances.
The two principal exponents of the liberation theology that emanated from Latin America are Juan Luis Segundo, S.J., and Gustavo Gutierrez, each of whom has produced multivolume commentary on the concept. Liberation theology is not confined to Latin America or Latin American religious writers, however. Measurable shifts in the character of physical realities, problems, opportunities, and norms for Catholics as members of both the community of Christians and the community of the entire modern world have been accompanied by a range of philosophical changes. These changes, accompanied by shifts in Catholic teaching and practice, have had an impact on traditional Catholic perceptions of theology. In the past two decades, a number of changes in religious attitude and belief have been either soug...