Many religious apologists use liberation theology as a point to defend why "not all" religion is "bad". I think this confuses the issue. While some clergy people do "good" and are sometimes involved in social justice issues the belief in god remains damaging on the basis that it negates rational and material thought and in actual fact relinquishes the ability to question the world. For these reasons liberation theology remains a negative and ultimately harmful force in society.
All the good in liberation theology is secular - a basic commitment to social justice is just a human thing to do. All the bad is religious - the irrational metaphysics, submission, etc. Basically I'm not sure I agree with you that liberation theology is "an ultimately harmful force in society" but I would argue that the only good in it is in fact secular, and it is tainted by religious overtones. -Alex
All the good in liberation theology is secular - a basic commitment to social justice is just a human thing to do. All the bad is religious - the irrational metaphysics, submission, etc. That's a very apt point. Christopher Hitchens makes a similar point in one of his debates. Doing "good" is not a religious thing, it's a human thing, like you say. Basically I'm not sure I agree with you that liberation theology is "an ultimately harmful force in society" but I would argue that the only good in it is in fact secular, and it is tainted by religious overtones. Whether liberation theology has human commitments it continues to view those commitments in the context of religion, i.e. submission and irrational metaphysics. Anything that professes such things is a harmful force on society regardless of whether they "do good". -Alex[/quote]
