‘In Search of the Poor’: Redefining Latin American Liberation Theology in a Contemporary Context

Latin American liberation theology has been traditionally classified as a struggle between the classes of the wealthy and the poor. This research will be addressing the lack of discussion on the subject of non-patriarchal identities in the context of liberation theology. The goal is not to discount the value of liberation theology, but to argue the contemporary necessity of a theology that is willing to engage with politics, social justice, and the quest for human realization at the same time. To illustrate this argument, three groups of identities will be discussed in this presentation: Latin American women, non-heterosexual identities, and Afro-Latino identities. Informing the body of the research are the writings of three contemporary liberation theologians: Silvia Regina de Lima Silva, Marcella Althaus-Reid, and Nancy Bedford. Each author vocalizes a unique way of defining the subject of the oppressed and what it means to the individual to be liberated