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Beyond Liberation Theology: A Polemic

Author:	Ivan Petrella
Published By:	SCM/Canterbury Press (London)
Pages:	182
Price:	£19.99
ISBN:	9780334041344

Reviewed by Luke Penkett.

This is the third book in SCM’s superb new series Reclaiming Liberation Theology. Its author is a foremost Liberation Theologian, who was, in part, responsible for the 2005 World Forum on Liberation and Theology held in Brazil.

In his challenging book, Petrella, who is Associate Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Miami as well as a leading writer on Liberation Theology and co-executive editor of the present series, offers a bold re-interpretation of Liberation Theology.

In the past such theology was limited and regional. Now a framework is presented that includes Latin American, Black, Womanist and Hispanic/Latino(a) theologies and this radical, holistic approach is astute and much needed.

He begins with an overall look at global poverty, then examines the national socio-economic context within which US Liberation Theologians work. He argues convincingly that issues of class are at the crux of the problem. Chapter 3 presents the American theological context within which a Liberation Theologian works. The last chapter shows the besetting sins that hinder Liberation Theology and points the way to a much wider understanding, with which contemporary problems need to be dealt with.