The purpose of this paper is to discuss three aspects of philosophy of religion: Liberation Theology, Economic and Social Justice, and the claim that compassion is the core of most religions. Each of the areas discussed is in response to a particular statement or question concerning that area. In each section of the paper, the question or statement is first presented and this is followed by a discussion of the pertinent literature in relation to that question or statement.
This section of the paper is a response to the following question: What are the two streams of liberation theology and how does each evaluate popular religion?
In order to place this question in context, it is helpful to briefly define terms. In this regard, it should be noted that 'popular religion" refers to communal, usually ritualistic, practices of an overtly religious character, many of which are intimately related to the culture of the community, e.g., Italian Americans who build altars on St. Joseph's Day and invite people in the community to come to their home and see them, the celebration in the streets that accompanies the Catholic "All Saints Day" in Mexico.
According to Boff and Boff (1988: 43-90), liberation theology can be defined as a general orientation to emphasize religion in terms of scriptures that address the plight of the poor and the need to help them. With respect to the two streams of liberation theology and popular religion, Candelaria (1990: 6-10) refers to the first stream of thought as "Populist Theology" and notes that this stream of thought views popular religion as a true element of liberation due to its popular character. It is said to maintain and bolster people's cultural heritage and, by doing so, to inspire a certain unity among the people which can then be mobilized for change.
The second stream of liberal theology, according to Candelaria (1990: 6-10), is far more critical of popular religion, although...