Associated Readings
- Leonardo Boff, "Church: Charisma and Power: Liberation Theology and the Institutional Church," pp. 107-136 (1981)
- John Burdick, "Why Is the Black Evangelical Movement Growing in Brazil?" Journal of Latin American Studies 37, pp. 311-32 (2005)
I. What was/is Liberation Theology?
As with most of Latin America, the majority of Brazilians (around three-quarters) identify as Catholics. While a detailed exposition of Catholic faith and church governance is beyond the scope of this blog, I will make a handful of introductory comments. About one-sixth of the world's population (that is, about one billion people) are Catholics. (That's about half of all Christians.) The Catholic church is made up of one Western church (the Latin Rite) and 22 Eastern Catholic churches, divided into 2,782 jurisdictional areas around the world. The Church looks to the Pope, currently Benedict XVI, as its highest human authority in matters of faith, morality and Church governance. The Church community is composed of an ordained ministry and the laity. Either may be members of religious communities like the Dominicans, Carmelites, Franciscans, Jesuits, Silesians and many others.
As those of you who are Catholic probably know, the Catholic church is hierarchical in comparison with other forms of Christianity. That is, individual priests and congregations cannot tinker with official doctrine and worship practices. Instead, the Catholic church is highly centralized and the final word rests with the Holy See, led by the Pope. (This means that major changes in Catholic governance and doctrine are extremely rare.) The role of the priest is also very specific within Catholicism, namely, to administer the sacraments.
Occasionally, the Holy See convenes councils to review church policy and practice. The most recent such council took place from 1962 to 1965. Known as the Second Vatican Council or "Vatican II" (the first had taken place nearly a century before), this council was convened by Pope John XXIII to reflect on the role of the church. Within these discussions, radically new interpretations of Catholic principles emerged. Vatican II was influenced heavily by bishops and theologians from Latin America, who argued that by ignoring political struggle, the church had failed to substantively help poor people in this part of the world. The theology that emerged out of these discussions -- later called "Liberation Theology" -- proposed that Jesus Christ was not only the Redeemer but also the Liberator of the Oppressed. It emphasizes the Christian mission to bring justice to the poor and oppressed, particularly through political activism. One the architects of Liberation Theology was the Brazilian philosopher Leonardo Boff, whose text is assigned in this week's reading. Boff is still very much alive, and continues to be highly influential in debates about democracy, globalization, and religion.
Liberation Theology has enjoyed widespread influence in Latin America and among the Jesuits, although its influence diminished within Catholicism after the Vatican issued official rejections of the theology in the 1980s and liberation theologians were harshly admonished by Pope John Paul II. The current Pope, Benedict XVI, has also been long known as an opponent of certain strands of liberation theology, and issued several condemnations of tendencies within it. Liberation theology has been described by proponents as "an interpretation of Christian faith through the poor's suffering, their struggle and hope, and a critique of society and the Catholic faith and Christianity through the eyes of the poor," and by detractors as a Christian form of Marxism. If you haven't read Leonardo Boff's text yet, read it now. Then, watch the short clip below to learn a bit more about Liberation Theology.
Liberation Theology has enjoyed widespread influence in Latin America and among the Jesuits, although its influence diminished within Catholicism after the Vatican issued official rejections of the theology in the 1980s and liberation theologians were harshly admonished by Pope John Paul II. The current Pope, Benedict XVI, has also been long known as an opponent of certain strands of liberation theology, and issued several condemnations of tendencies within it. Liberation theology has been described by proponents as "an interpretation of Christian faith through the poor's suffering, their struggle and hope, and a critique of society and the Catholic faith and Christianity through the eyes of the poor," and by detractors as a Christian form of Marxism. If you haven't read Leonardo Boff's text yet, read it now. Then, watch the short clip below to learn a bit more about Liberation Theology.
II. Evangelical Christianity and Its Massive Growth in Recent Years
Anthropologist John Burdick's text for this week tells the story of the rise in recent years of Evangelical Christianity, especially among Afro-Brazilians. Read this short article from The Guardian to understand the historical backdrop of Brazilian evangelism's emergence and defining characteristics. Then watch the five-minute clip below to see some images of Evangelical Christians in Brazil.
PART 2. Urban Realities: Drug Lords and Masculinity in Rio de Janeiro
Associated Readings
- Ben Penglase, "The Owner of the Hill: Masculinity and Drug-Trafficking in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil." Journal of Latin American & Caribbean Anthropology 15(2), pp. 317-37 (2010)
- John Lee Anderson, "Gangland: Who controls the streets of Rio de Janeiro?" The New Yorker, October 5, pp. 47-57 (2009)
Associated Films
“City of God” (2002, 130 minutes; sources: STL, Netflix/DVD, Blockbuster, Amazon.com)
I. Outsider Fantasies of Rio de Janeiro
With the FIFA Soccer World Cup coming to Brazil in 2012 and the Summer Olympics just two years later, the city of Rio de Janeiro will be getting a lot of attention. Known as "the marvelous city" (a cidade maravilhosa), Rio has long functioned in the imagination of outsiders as a symbol for Brazil itself--or rather, for outsiders' fantasies of Brazil. On the one had, Rio evokes images of beautiful beaches populated by scant-clad women and men,
On the other hand, Rio increasingly triggers associations with urban violence, kidnapping, and flying bullets. You can see the full range of these associations and stereotypes in the following 10-minutes clip from The Simpsons. (Enjoy!)
Comedic value aside, this Simpsons episode serves as a reminder about something important: that stereotypes utterly pervade our understandings of Rio (and of Brazil more generally). The articles by Penglase and Anderson will take you deep into the favelas of Rio, giving powerful and troubling accounts of how young men and ordinary favela residents position themselves in different ways in relation to the drug trade, to gangs, and to their families. The amazing film, "City of God" presents the violent, intersecting trajectories of a group of boys growing up in one of Rio's largest favelas.
With the FIFA Soccer World Cup coming to Brazil in 2012 and the Summer Olympics just two years later, the city of Rio de Janeiro will be getting a lot of attention. Known as "the marvelous city" (a cidade maravilhosa), Rio has long functioned in the imagination of outsiders as a symbol for Brazil itself--or rather, for outsiders' fantasies of Brazil. On the one had, Rio evokes images of beautiful beaches populated by scant-clad women and men,
On the other hand, Rio increasingly triggers associations with urban violence, kidnapping, and flying bullets. You can see the full range of these associations and stereotypes in the following 10-minutes clip from The Simpsons. (Enjoy!)
Comedic value aside, this Simpsons episode serves as a reminder about something important: that stereotypes utterly pervade our understandings of Rio (and of Brazil more generally). The articles by Penglase and Anderson will take you deep into the favelas of Rio, giving powerful and troubling accounts of how young men and ordinary favela residents position themselves in different ways in relation to the drug trade, to gangs, and to their families. The amazing film, "City of God" presents the violent, intersecting trajectories of a group of boys growing up in one of Rio's largest favelas.
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