After the Second World War, many cases of different forms of oppression within American societies were reported to be on the rise. Some of the main reasons behind the increase in the cases of oppression include racial discrimination and the use of power to subject other individuals to circumstances against human rights, such as slavery. The development of various religious groups in the United States of America marked the beginning and development of liberation theology (French et al., 2019). Various groups and individuals who were subjected to various forms of oppression used different religious concepts and principles to fight and end different forms of oppression within the society. This paper strives to highlight how the concepts and principles of religion significantly contributed to the development of liberation theologies in the United States.
Liberation theology was a movement that Christians around the world greatly advocated for to fight for individuals who suffered due to various political and social injustices. It aimed to ensure that the poor and marginalized groups were effectively aided in acquiring an appropriate position within the society (French et al., 2019). The population of the United States of America is made up of both native and immigrant individuals are amongst the communities that embraced the development of various religious groups. One of the main reasons that contributed to the rapid development of liberation theology in America was the increased cases of oppression to the minority.
Many immigrants in the American territories have greatly suffered due to the oppression from the white American-born citizens. The minority groups, such as the African American and Asian American individuals, make up the population of the minority group in America. Racial discrimination has been one of the most significant social problems in the United States of America, where minority groups have been the major victims (French et al., 2019).
The main cause of racism in America is a superiority complex from the American-born citizens because they feel that the immigrants are in their territory to compete for the available resources. Most of the white American-born citizens believed that the immigrants did not deserve a share of the national resources. This concept resulted in most of them subjecting the minority groups to various forms of oppression.
Due to the devastating effects of racial discrimination and oppression, most individuals opted to join the various religious movements to fight oppression in America. The groups joined such movements with the aim of getting liberated from the negative impacts of oppression, such as racial discrimination (French et al., 2019). As the number of individuals joining different religious groups increased, more religions in American societies developed. This greatly contributed to the development of liberation theology in the United States of America. The main pioneers of the liberation theory concept were the Roman Catholic Church activists who were majorly from Latin America in the early 1960s.
One of the major factors that motivated the catholic activists to introduce the concept of liberation theology was the need to fight for social justice for the victims of oppression. The oppressed individuals within the American societies majorly consist of minority groups and poor individuals (French et al., 2019). The minority groups were majorly subjected to various forms of racial discrimination that had a negative impact on their quality of life. For example, many black individuals were being used as slaves and were put to work under poor working conditions by white American-born citizens and elite individuals. According to the Christian faith and principles of life, no human being should subject another fellow to environments and activities against human rights.
Many individuals from marginalized groups also embraced the concept of liberation theology. This enabled them to acquire social justice for the inhumane acts they were subjected to by the powerful oppressors. Catholic humanitarians and activists formed various movements that advocated for implementing laws that would punish the perpetrators of multiple injustices (French et al., 2019). This helped ensure that all the individuals affected by discrimination and oppression were in a position of getting justice regardless of their status in society. Achieving social equity within the society was a significant contribution to social liberation among the marginalized groups in the United States of America.
The fight to ensure equality amongst the citizens, regardless of their place of origin, was also a major contribution to developing liberation theology in America. Negative parities were a major cause of oppression in American communities. For example, the minority groups and the low-income individuals living in America were greatly affected by parities in different sectors, such as the healthcare sector.
Healthcare parity was a major problem in the American communities where healthcare institutions mostly offered services to the elite and white individuals while they looked down upon the minority groups. Police brutality was also a major concern where many black individuals were being murdered under unclear circumstances by the police force, with no justice being offered to the oppressed (French et al., 2019). Liberation theologies majorly developed in America due to the need of ending oppression to the minority groups and ensuring humanity in the United States of America.
Reference
French, B. H., Lewis, J. A., Mosley, D. V., Adames, H. Y., Chavez-Dueñas, N. Y., Chen, G. A., & Neville, H. A. (2019). Toward a psychological framework of radical healing in communities of color. The Counseling Psychologist, 48(1), 56–78. Web.