A Tale of Two Priests and Two Struggles

Liberation Theology from Dictatorship to Democracy in the Brazilian Northeast

Bibliographic Data

ID8874835
AuthorsJan Hoffman French (University of Richmond, corresponding author)
Year2007
Volume63
Issue3
Pages409-443
Publication date2007-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Americas A Quarterly Review of Latin American History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0003-1615 • E-ISSN: 1533-6247
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1353/tam.2007.0016
OpenAlexW2169791234
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited31

Land for the landless, food for the hungry, literacy for the uneducated—not through charitable works, but by forcing the state to take seriously its responsibilities to its poorest citizens. This was integral to the theology of liberation as it was practiced by bishops, priests, and nuns in Brazil beginning shortly after the close of the Second Vatican Council in 1965. Important sectors of the Brazilian Catholic Church were “opting for the poor” at a time when economic development, modernization, and democracy were not considered appropriate or meaningful partners in the repressive environment characterized by the Brazilian military dictatorship (1964-1985)

Bishops · Democracy · Dictatorship · Economic history · Liberation theology · Modernization theory · Political science · Politics · Sociology · State (computer science · Theology · Christian Theology and Mission · History · Law · Philosophy · Religion and Society in Latin America · Religious studies