Liberation Theology - Practice

Practice

One of the most radical aspects of liberation theology was the social organization, or re-organization, of church practice through the model of Christian base communities (CBCs). Liberation theology strove to be a bottom-up movement in practice, with Biblical interpretation and liturgical practice designed by lay practitioners themselves, rather than by the orthodox Church hierarchy. In this context, sacred text interpretation is understood as "praxis".

Journalist and writer Penny Lernoux described this aspect of liberation theology in her numerous and committed writings intended to explain the movement's ideas in North America. Base communities were small gatherings, usually outside of churches, in which the Bible could be discussed, and Mass could be said. They were especially active in rural parts of Latin America where parish priests were not always available, as they placed a high value on lay participation. As of May 2007, it was estimated that 80,000 base communities were operating in Brazil alone. Contemporaneously Fanmi Lavalas in Haiti, the Landless Workers' Movement in Brazil, and Abahlali baseMjondolo in South Africa are three organizations that make use of liberation theology.

Duane Alexander Miller, after an extensive examination of the writings of Christian ex-Muslim authors, including Steven Masood and Bilquis Sheikh, has proposed that ex-Muslim Christians are engaged in the praxis of liberation theology. This theory is based on the work of Roman Catholic scholar Robert Schreiter. Miller argues that some ex-Muslim Christians are attempting to subvert the 'unjust social structure' of the Islamic shari'a through evangelism and advocacy for religious tolerance . These concepts are exemplified in the metaphors of transition from darkness to light and slavery to freedom . If Miller is correct, it means that there is a distinct ex-Muslim Christian branch of liberation theology.