March, 2005

The World Forum on Theology and Liberation

Rose Wu

With the recommendation and support of Mission 21, I was very grateful to be invited to attend the World Forum on Theology and Liberation from Jan. 21 to 25, 2005, in Porto Alegre, Brasil—five days prior to World Social Forum V.

As many liberation theologians pointed out, the World Social Forum has been a symbol of hope and empowerment for activists throughout the world who search for an alternative to the present manifestation of globalisation based on neo-liberalism. Through the inspiration of the World Social Forum, the first World Forum on Theology and Liberation was brought into being this year. The forum was successful in gathering almost 200 Christian theologians from different continents under a theme with the same spirit as the World Social Forum: "With the Help of All Religions, a Better World Is Possible."

The forum believes that since we live in a globalised era geographic boundaries should not influence the liberating process of the poor, for we all live in the same world ruled by the same system. Therefore, either we survive together, or we will all be oppressed together. There is no other choice: liberation is necessary worldwide and so is theology.

I would like to highlight five significant points as my personal reflection about the forum below.

1. At the forum, the central emphasis of the "option for the poor and oppressed" of liberation theology was confirmed again and again. Different liberation theologians noted that the essential spirit of all liberation theologies must emerge from the authentic struggle and wisdom of those marginalised in our societies—women, the poor, sexual minorities, the disabled, aboriginal people, ethic minorities, migrant workers, refugees, etc. Thus, the activities of liberation theologies should move beyond the ivory tower of academic circles. From the perspective of liberation theology, the poor and oppressed are not merely victims: they are God's instruments to enable us to see the new horizon of God's Kingdom which is filled with hope, justice and peace.
   
   
2. Another concern which drew much attention of the forum's participants was how theology can help to create interdisciplinary theoretical work on alternatives to the current ideological hegemony of neo-liberalism. Presently, the majority of economists in universities, institutes and government departments, as well as the mass media, continue to champion a neo-liberal dogma that economically, ideologically and politically reinforces a hegemonic power system. Thus, a good deal of discussion focused on ways theology can play a role in strengthening interdisciplinary research and alternative socio-economic models.
   
   Today movements of indigenous people and others at the grassroots, environmentalists and feminists are already generating a new political culture based on spiritual and social visions from their traditions. They challenge us to live in a world with a plurality of cultures; they demand justice as a prerequisite for a meaningful form of human solidarity; they urge us to commit to a communitarian and cooperative system that binds us together in order to survive.
   
   The events of the World Social Forum during the past four years have been major expressions of this emerging solidarity. These are networks of people which are driven by a spirituality that affirms life. These anti-hegemonic alliances, both globally and at the local level, need to be the locale of doing theology.
   
   
3. The voices of women at the forum did not end at the conclusion of certain presentations. Rather, they were like a symphony brought forward by women of diverse traditions and cultures that significantly challenged the patriarchal nature of Christian traditions as well as mainstream liberation theology. An Indian Dalit feminist theologian, Envangeline Anderson-Rajkumar, put forward a critical statement during her presentation: "The Church ought to own the task of gender justice as a core faith task and treat it as a priority issue if it truly wants transformation. . . . When we dream of a theology for another possible world, the engendering of theology, our mission, our administration, our leadership and our whole way of life becomes a core necessity. The engendering process cannot be a concept. It has to take concrete root and involves critical engagement in the struggle for liberation and justice." On the other hand, there were voices urging an expansion of the notion of gender to include a wider range of sexual identities, such as gay, lesbian, bi/transsexual, etc. We also need criteria that keeps images of God from being distorted by machismo and domination. One criteria is compassion for, and presence with, the people.
   
   
4. Another powerful voice at the forum came from the indigenous peoples of Latin America. Their ritual form of presentation expressed the deep yearning of humanity to be in relation to the oneness of God's Creation. This reminds us to ask the profound question of who we are as earth creatures, as members of integrated ecosystems that constitute the whole earth community.
   
   
5. The last concern which was shared among the speakers as well as in group discussions was the issue of interreligious dialogue and cooperation. We all agreed that the future of theology must adopt an inclusive model of dialogue and communication with people of other faiths in order to build another world more strongly rooted in peace and justice.

To conclude this article, I want to share with you a story which was told to me by a sister from Kenya at the forum. She told me that because of poverty and social stigmatisation countless HIV/AIDS patients do not receive proper treatment and die in Africa. As a result, many orphans are left behind to live their lives in poverty and isolation. In order to break the prevailing indifferent attitude, she and some other women began to take the children home and treat them like their own children. She said the victimisation of these orphans is not only being poor; the most terrible thing, she said, is society's negative and discriminative attitude toward AIDS victims. For the orphans, another world is not only possible; it has been realised through the action of these women in Kenya. By opening their homes to the children, they not only serve the basic needs of the poor, but they also break the social stigmatisation of AIDS victims and illustrate how we can live out the true spirit of Christian hospitality for the most marginalised and oppressed people of our society.