Liberation Theologies, Postmodernity and the Americas / Edition 1

by David Batstone, Eduardo Mendieta, Lois Ann Lorentzen, Dwight N. Hopkins

Overview

Simultaneously arising out of such diverse contexts as the black community in the United States, grassroots religious communities in Latin America, and feminist circles in North Atlantic countries, theologies of liberation have emerged as a resource and inspiration for people seeking social and political freedom. Over the last three decades, liberation theology has irrevocably altered religious thinking and practice throughout the Americas. Liberation Theologies, Postmodernity and the Americas provides a meaningful and spirited debate on vital interpretive issues in religion, philosophy, and ethics. The renowned group of scholars explore liberation theologies' uses of discourses of emancipation, revolution and utopia in contrast with postmodernism's suspicion of grand narratives, while assessing what the postmodernism/liberation debate means for strategies of social and political transformation. Guided by the experiences of those at the margins of social power, liberation theologies demystify the eurocentric myths of secularization and modernity, and calls for a re-appraisal of religion in contemporary societies. Contributors: Edmund Arens, David Batstone, Maria Clara Bingemer, Enrique Dussel, Gustavo Gutierrez, Jurgen Habermas, Franz Hinkelammert, Dwight Hopkins, Lois Ann Lorentzen, Eduardo Mendieta, Amos Nascimento, Elsa Tamez, Mark McLain Taylor, and Sharon Welch, Robert Allen Warrior

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415916585
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	07/02/1997
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

David Batstone is Assistant Professor, Department of Theology and Religious Studies, University of San Francisco. Eduardo Mendieta is Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of San Francisco. Lois Ann Lorentzen is Associate Professor, Department of Theology and Religious Studies, University of San Francisco. Dwight N. Hopkins is Associate Professor, The Divinity School, The University of Chicago.

Table of Contents

Introduction—David Batstone, Eduardo Mendieta, Lois Ann Lorentzen, Dwight N. Hopkins; Part One:DANGEROUS HOPE & LIBERATING MONEY: 1. Liberation Theology in the Economic and Social Context of Latin America: Economy and Theology, or the Irrationality of the Rationalized — Franz J. Hinkelammert 2. When the Horizons Close upon Themselves: A Reflection on the Utopian Reason of ohlet —Elsa Tamez 3.Renewing the Option for the Poor —Gustavo Gutirrez 4.A Post-Christian and Postmodern Christianism —Marña Clara Bingemer 5. Black Masks on White Faces: Liberation Theology and the Quest for Syncretism in the Brazilian Context—Josu A. Sathler and Años Nascimento Part Two: CROSSING BORDERS: REMAPPING THE SACRED/SECULAR: Section Introduction 6. Dancing with Chaos: Reflections on Power, Contingency, and Social Change—Sharon D. Welch; 7. Writing for Liberation: Prison Testimonials from El Salvador—Lois Ann Lorentzen; 8. Charting (dis)Courses of Liberation — David Batstone 9. Vodou Resistance/Vodou Hope: Forging a Postmodernism That Liberates—Mark McClain Taylor 10. William Apess: A Pequot and a Methodist Under the Sign of Modernity—Robert Allen Warrior Part Three: POSTMODERN PRAXES AND LIBERATION THEORIES: 11. Postmodernity, Black Theology of Liberation and the U.S.A.: Michel Foucault and James H. Cone—Dwight N. Hopkins; 12. Interruptions: Critical Theory and Political Theology Between Modernity and Postmodernity—Edmund Arens 13.Israel and Athens, or to Whom Does Anamnestic Reason Belong: On Unity in Multicultural Diversity — Jürgen Habermas 14.From Christendom to Polycentric Oikonum Modernity, Postmodernity, and Liberation Theology —Eduardo Mendieta 15.The Architectonic of the Ethics of Liberation: On Material Ethics and Formal Moralities—Enrique Dussel.

Editorial Reviews

"A magnificent collection of essays by a stellar class of authors. The book is a timely resource for persons who want to assess the state of academic theology not only in the American academy but also in public spaces." -- TheJournal of Religion
"This book represents a fine collection of texts illustration the convergence of the three themes mentioned in the title." -- Charron
"Insightful...worthwhile..." -- Religious Studies Reviews
"This book is an informative, up-to-date introduction to liberation theology in its struggles with postmodern reality and postmodern theories." -- Journal of theAmerican Academy of Religion
"This collection raises important questions about the future of both Liberation theology and postmodernity, and, by association, Hispanic/Latino theology." -- Religious Studies Review

From the Publisher