Expanding the View: Gustavo Gutierrez and the Future of Liberation Theology

In 1988, many of the world’s leading theologians gathered at Maryknoll to honor Gustavo Gutierrez, the ＂＂father of liberation theology.＂＂ The occasion marked the twentieth anniversary of the Medellin conference, Gutierrez’s sixtieth birthday, and publication of a new edition of his enduring classic, A Theology of Liberation. The resulting volume, The Future of Liberation Theology, included over fifty papers presented at that historic gathering. Expanding the View takes key essays from that landmark volume and makes them available for the first time in paperback. From the wealth of material, essays were selected to provide the most comprehensive overview of critical thinking on liberation theology--both its past developments and the challenges it faces in the future. Among the issues addressed: the ways liberation theology has grown and developed in its treatment of popular religion, Marxism, and women’s issues, and the contribution of liberation theology to interreligious dialogue, Catholic social teaching, and the struggle for human rights. Critical questions are raised about the future possibilities of liberation theology. Above all, many of the contributors assess the significance of this theology from the Third World for Christians living in the affluent First World. Ideal for classroom use, and essential reading for everyone interested in this vital movement, this volume includes Gutierrez’s own ＂＂Expanding the View,＂＂ which introduces the fifteenth anniversary edition of A Theology of Liberation. Contributors include: Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza, Aloysius Pieris, Arthur McGovern, Francois Houtart, Harvey Cox, Edward Schillebeeckx, Rosemary Ruether, Penny Lernoux, Leonardo Boff, Johann Baptist Metz, Gregory Baum, Jose Miguez Bonino, Pablo Richard, Robert McAfee Brown, and Maria Clara Bingemer. Marc H. Ellis is University Professor and Director of Jewish Studies at Baylor University. Professor Ellis has lectured around the world and is the author of more than twenty books, including Toward a Jewish Theology of Liberation and Encountering the Jewish Future. Otto Maduro, Venezuelan philosopher and sociologist of religion, is Professor of World & Latin American Christianity at Drew University, has written articles as well as books on issues of religion, knowledge, and liberation struggles; and held the posts of President of the American Academy of Religion (2011-2012) and National Director of the Hispanic Summer Program in religion and theology (2006-2012). He is the co-editor with Marc Ellis of The Future of Liberation Theology, and he is author of Religion and Social Conflicts.

Marc H. Ellis is University Professor and Director of Jewish Studies at Baylor University. Professor Ellis has lectured around the world and is the author of more than twenty books, including Toward a Jewish Theology of Liberation and Encountering the Jewish Future.

Otto Maduro, Venezuelan philosopher and sociologist of religion, is Professor of World & Latin American Christianity at Drew University, has written articles as well as books on issues of religion, knowledge, and liberation struggles; and held the posts of President of the American Academy of Religion (2011-2012) and National Director of the Hispanic Summer Program in religion and theology (2006-2012). He is the co-editor with Marc Ellis of The Future of Liberation Theology, and he is author of Religion and Social Conflicts.