LACS Lecture. Liberationist Christianity in Brazil

Professor Löwy calls “Liberationist Christianity” the vast social-religious movement, which emerged at the beginning of the 1960s, with a strong commitment to fight for social liberation. This movement involved considerable sectors of the Church – priests, religious orders, bishops – lay religious movements – Catholic Action, the Christian student movement, Christian young workers – pastoral committees with a popular base – labour, land and urban pastorals –and ecclesiastical base communities. Liberation Theology, which emerged after 1971 was the expression of this movement. The Church as an institution supported the military coup of 1964, but under the influence of Liberationist Christianity it became, after 1970, a frontal opponent to the military dictatorship. Without this social-religious movement one cannot understand the emergence of a new workers and peasant movement in Brazil during the 1980’s (the Workers’ Party, the Union Confederation, and the Landless Peasants’ Movement, etc.)

Michael Löwy, born in Brazil in 1938, has lived in Paris since 1969. He is an emeritus research director in social sciences at the CNRS (French National Center for Scientific Research). His books include Redemption and Utopia: Liberation Judaism in Central Europe, Marxism in Latin America, and The War of the Gods: Religion and Politics in Latin America. His writings have been translated into 30 languages.