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Unbearable Poverties and the Future of Liberation Theology

In the autumn of 2016, the Jesuit liberation theologian Georges De Schrijver, one of the founders of the Centre for Liberation Theologies (CLT) in Leuven, Belgium, passed away while teaching in the Philippines. Among many other things, he was well known for his sharp questions. At the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the CLT, he asked a very practical question in the academic context: “Why is liberation theology not more politically effective? After decades of liberation theology, why is there still so much poverty in the world?” While this may seem to be an example of what Lewis R. Gordon calls “disciplinary decadence” – that is, the reduction of all problems to a problem within a particular discipline, in this case theology – De Schrijver’s question opened up a possible theological flaw that is linked to liberation theology’s ineffectiveness. The essays gathered in this issue all propose strategies and areas of focus that might overcome this perceived ineffectiveness. They connect a form of liberation theology with “the socio-political.” In different ways, the authors articulate liberation theology in ways that are fertile and meaningful for the present and the future. The authors each “update” liberation theology for the twenty-first century by using liberation theology to respond to contemporary sociopolitical issues and problems, and in doing so transform it. They demonstrate that the forms in which liberation theology today manifests itself are necessarily diverse given the complexities of today’s forms of oppression, and urge us not to be afraid of this complexity, or to be paralyzed by it. The articles gathered in this issue are the result of a reflection undertaken at the 25th anniversary of the CLT at KU Leuven in Belgium. The theme of the conference was the future of liberation theology in view of increasing forms of poverty today, and all essays reflect on liberation theology’s position in the world, thereby also connecting it to the political. While we acknowledge that the difference between political theology and liberation theology is not always clear, and that ultimately, every liberation theology should be political and vice versa, the following essays all political theology, Vol. 18 No. 4, June 2017, 287–289