Elias KrugerTH 591 Directed StudyDr. Garcia-Johnson

Post/decolonial Epistemologies Towards Constructing a LatinAmerican Ecumenical Theology

I.Post/Decolonial Lexicon

In this first part, I list and define eighteen terms from

Postcolonial (Post-Orientalist) and Decolonial (Post-Occidental)

studies. These terms will then be used and at times calibrated in

the second part where I build a Post/decolonial Ecumenical

theology for the Latin American context.

1. Modernity, Coloniality and Transmodernity

Modernity, the era initiated by the European Enlightenment

of the 17th century, is possibly one of the biggest culprits of

post/decolonial thinking. While historical accounts tend to

associate modernity with the rise of science, capitalism and

democracy, the Post/decolonial view deconstruct these notions and

re-define it as an epistemological imperialism which undergirded

and perpetuated the European colonial project in the world. It

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was able to do so by concealing its place of enunciation,

claiming instead to speak of universal values applicable to all

people at all times. In doing so, it concealed its Euro-centric

origin while establishing itself as the primary reference of

knowledge.

Here it is helpful to describe Dussel’s division of

Modernity in two phases: 1) The European colonial enterprise led

by Spain and Portugal founded on Christian-oriented biopolitical

view of the world that considered the American continent as a

rightful extension of the Occident that went from the 1492 till

around 1680. That is, based on Genesis division of the nations on

the story of Noah’s sons, the Europeans, as descendants of

Japheth had the God-given and church sanctioned right to occupy

and extract riches from the American continent.1 The transfer of

wealth initiated at this historical juncture was what fueled,

funded and enabled the European industrial revolution and

subsequent colonial advances. 2) A second phase started with

Britain and France and was eventually taken on by United States

1 Santiago Castro-Gomez, “(Post)Coloniality for Dummies: Latin American Perspectives on Modernity, Coloniality and the Geopolitics of Knowledge.” In Coloniality at Large: Latin America and the Postciolonial Debate, edited by Mabel Moraña, Enrique Dussel and Carlos A. Jauregui, (Durham: Duke University Press, 2008) 275.

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founded on a secular mission to civilize the barbarians of the

world through science and economic progress.2 In this second

phase, the Christian foundation was replaced by a humanistic view

from the Enlightenment that established European superiority

because of scientific knowledge wedded with a capitalist appetite

to expand commerce through new markets.3

By doing so, the Post/decolonial view established an

undeniable link between Modernity and Colonialism that leads to

paradigm shifting implications. For, if modernity is tied with

colonialism, one cannot speak of postmodernity without also

speaking of a postcolonialism. In this view, a Postmodern

critique that only recognizes the ideological shortcomings of

Modernity without taking into account its geo-political

implications is at best incomplete and at worse a perpetuation of

modernity’s project. Therefore, Post/decolonial thinking, well

represented in the thought of Enrique Dussel, proposes instead

the concept of Transmodernity.4 This concept wants to go beyond a2 Walter Mignolo,”The Geopolitics of Knowledge and Colonial Difference” In Coloniality at Large: Latin America and the Postciolonial Debate, edited by Mabel Moraña, 229.3 Nelson Maldonado-Torres, “Secularism and Religions in the Modern/Colonial World-System: From Secular Postcoloniality to Postsecular Transmodernity” In Coloniality at Large: Latin America and the Postcolonial Debate, edited by Mabel Moraña, 360.4 Enrique Dussel and Michael D. Barber. The Invention of the Americas: Eclipse of "the Other"and the Myth of Modernity, (New York: Continuum, 1995), 12.

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simply chronological notion of being post to also take into

account the geo-political notion of space. Therefore,

Transmodernity means not only the critiquing and moving on from

Modern epistemologies but also the invitation of other local

knowledges to come to the table. A true transcendence of

modernity implies an evolution not only from its categories but

also from its geographical locus of enunciation. It remains yet

to be seen what that would look like and how this transcendence

would take place.

2. Border Thinking

Mignolo defines border thinking as the ability to think from

inside and outside of the world system, therefore, to stand in

the border and see both sides.5 Thinking from a geo-political

perspective, he sees border thinking as an ability to transcend

one’s own local history but to understand in perspective of other

local histories. This is well exemplified in Post/decolonial

scholars who while living in the developed world and employing

Western knowledge tools are able to also tap into their

experience of living or being born in developing countries.

5 Walter Mignolo Local Histories/Global Designs : Coloniality, Subaltern Knowledges, and Border Thinking (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2000), 64.

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Leveraging this tension, they are able to produce novel insights

not previously considered by Western grown and bred scholars.

Border thinking also rejects the notion that one should approach

a topic objectively without taking into account of one’s

historical experience. Instead, the scholar’s biography becomes a

source for asking new questions and challenging established

conventions.

3. Coloniality of Power

Originally developed by Peruvian sociologist Anibal Quijano,

it is the spatial articulation of power based on Atlantic

commercial circuit - which is different from colonialism.6 That

is, while colonialism refers to political domination and

exploitation of a sovereign nation by another, coloniality of

power refers to the rationale that enabled European colonization

in the last five centuries. It consists of: 1) the classification

of populations, in this case defining the continents of the world

based on their racial make up; 2) An institutional structure that

preserve and perpetuate these classifications with the emergence

of social sciences that disseminated this knowledge; 3) The

6 Mignolo,”The Geopolitics of Knowledge and Colonial Difference”, 228.

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definition of spaces according to these classifications; 4) An

epistemological perspective from which to articulate the new

matrix of power, therefore justifying and explaining European

hegemony over the rest of the world.7 In this way, it is an

European understanding of the world that is projected into a

global design, concealed as universal knowledge.

4. Double critique

Similar to border thinking, this concept speaks of the

ability of an individual to make a critique from a dividing

point, being able to analyze both sides of the spectrum at the

same time. By doing so, the individual is able not only challenge

global narratives but also to take a critical look on local

knowledges and paradigms. A good illustration of this concept is

how Moroccan philosopher Abdelkebi Khatibi is able to develop a

historical paradigm that is critical of both Western and Islamic

fundamentalist thinking.8 It often arises from scholars thinking

in multiple languages or who have a mixed background.

5.Hybridity

7 Mignolo, Local Histories/Global Designs : Coloniality, Subaltern Knowledges, and Border Thinking, 17.8 Ibid, 67

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Developed primarily by Indian postcolonial scholars, it

denotes the ability of the subaltern to transcend identity

categories imposed by the colonial power.9 Instead, the subaltern

individual is able to formulate an identity that sits in both

poles as both other and the same. In a broader sense, its meaning

can be extended to as a synonym of border thinking in which the

individual sits between two identities and therefore is able to

see the world through a new lens. Yet, it is different in that

its meaning goes beyond just from thinking to the identity that

produces the unique perspective. This is well exemplified by

minorities within the United States who define themselves as

<ethnic-group / race / nationality>-American, therefore

expressing the duality of their identity not just in tension but

also intricately connected with the American identity.

6. Ecology of Knowledge and Border Gnosis

Coined by Portuguese sociologist Boaventura de Sousa Santos,

it denotes a move from the Western view of knowledge divided into

disciplines or compartments to an ecology of knowledge that

recognizes local forms previously neglected or ignored by a

9 Homi K. Bhabha, The Location of Culture, (London: Routledge, 2004), 5.

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scientific view.10. It calls for recognizing the epistemological

diversity of the world. For example, an ecology of knowledge view

would not discard the traditions of Amerindian peoples as

primitive folklore - but instead it will treat it as knowledge in

the same way a the West have treated scientific knowledge.

Therefore, such view forces us to encounter culture in a more

fluid way rather than trying it to fit into objective categories.

It requires a humility and willingness to listen to the other, in

however form they are speaking.

This concept resonates well with Walter Mignolo notion of

re-defining knowledge as gnosis. Returning to the original Greek,

he distinguishes between episteme, which eventually became what the

West defines as knowledge, and gnosis. The latter denoted a more

mysterious or experiential form of knowledge.11 The second

category would be more akin to religious knowledge or revelation.

Yet, in this case Mignolo wants to appropriate the mystery not in

God but in the uncertainties of being in the border in the

process of decolonization. This then allows Mignolo to speak of

10 Boaventura de Sousa Santos, "A Non-Occidentalist West?" Theory, Culture andSociety( 26, no. 7-8 (2009): 7-8), 14.11 Mignolo, Local Histories/Global Designs : Coloniality, Subaltern Knowledges, and Border Thinking, 10

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the pre-literary traditions of Amerindians as knowledge rather

than just anthropological artifacts.

7. Occidentalism and Orientalism

Orientalism was originally developed by Palestinian literary

theorist Edward Said, put forth in the book with the same name

first published in 1978. Applying a deconstructive lens to

historical documents, newspaper articles, and books of the

colonial period, Said compellingly argued that the Orient was an

European fabrication based on the exteriority of Middle Eastern

and Asian populations. Moreover, this fabrication was not a mere

misperception but became the epistemological foundation that

allowed the West to politically dominate the region.12 In Said’s

view, exposing Orientalism was the first step in re-defining

Middle Eastern and Asian identify in their own local terms. While

affirming its difference from the West, it rejected its

totalizing exterior description of themselves.

Implicit in this argument, however, is the polar opposite

Occidentalism. For Orientalism could not exist, unless there was

12 Edward Said. Orientalism (New York: Pantheon Books, 1978), 3.

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an Occident to speak with. Yet, Said’s project did not aim at

defining the Occident but re-defining the Orient from an internal

perspective. Glaringly missing from this conversation was how to

classify Latin America which clearly did not fit as part of the

Orient but also did not fit into the dominant Occident. That is

why, in the later mid-90’s the subaltern Latin American group was

created in other to study the region as a different type of

periphery from Occident. In this case, the alterity was from

within rather than from without the Occident.13

Therefore, while both terms share in the Postcolonial effort

to expose and de-construct Western domination, they arise from

different geo-political situations. One seeks to undo the Euro-

centric definition of existing and well-established cultures

(Postorientalism) while the other wants to make sense of new

identity that cannot be confined to European heritage but

includes the Amerindians that lived in the continent

(Postoccidentalism). Not only that, but also seeks to take into

account the impact on Europeans peoples that have lived in the

13 Mignolo,”The Geopolitics of Knowledge and Colonial Difference”, 302.

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American continent for centuries and can no longer identify

themselves with their originating geography.

8. Alterity

It is a term originally introduced by French philosopher

Emanuel Levinas to denote otherness. More specifically, it

implies the “seeing of the face of the other from a distance.”14

The focus on the face is important because it reduces the ability

of the seer to control or define the other as an object. The face

of the other reminds the seer that they are a subject as well.

Therefore, alterity becomes a foundation for egalitarian

relationships of mutual respect in the recognition of the

irreducible individuality of the other.

Dussel picked up this concept of alterity in formulating his

philosophy of liberation. Yet, he changes the face of the other

to face of another people, resisting western notions of

individuality.15 This way a philosophy of liberation will have

the other as a people in view rather than an object to be

conquered.

14 Jill Robbins. Prodigal Son/Elder Brother: Interpretation and Alterity in Augustine, Petrarch, Kafka, Levinas, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991), 141.15 Enrique Dussel, Philosophy of Liberation, (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1985), 43.

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9. Totalization of Exteriority

Dussel introduced this concept in his philosophy of

liberation to illustrate the colonizing effect of Europe on the

other continents of the world. That is, imposing a rigid

epistemological framework be it democracy, civilization, Marxism

or other concepts - they totalize the world’s otherness into one

sameness.16 In this process, they deny the other their alterity

and instead define them according to their own ontology. This

process is totally unnoticed by the social sciences developed in

the West and built on Cartesian or Kantian notions of being. In

other words, Dussel sees European philosophy as a collaborator,

concealer and enabler of the colonial project in in the process

of conquest. In this conquest, the colonized nations are stripped

of their identities, religions, and local meanings.

While Dussel’s connection between knowledge and power is

adequately perceived in this definition, I wonder if he is giving

too much credit to European colonial project at the expense of

local resistance. So, in an effort to expose European

imperialism, he ironically negates the influence of other nations

16 Ibid, 52.

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in European thought and how the interaction with other peoples

impacted the European thinking. Can this relationship be totally

interpreted in a one-way direction? In other words, can one speak

of totalizing exteriority or are these exteriorities somewhat

partial?

10. Ego Cogito Ego Conquiro

In this phrase loosely meaning “I think therefore I conquer”

is how Dussel exposes the insidious relationship between

Enlightenment and the earlier colonial project.17 He sees Euro-

centric thinking exemplified in the Cartesian idea of “I think

therefore I am” as intricately related to the idea of conquering.

That is, conquering becomes the praxis of thinking. When

Descartes defined ontology as interpretable beings, he localized

the center of meaning on one-self and at a broader manifestation,

in the geo-political Euro-centric self. This manifested itself

when European conquistadors encountered other people and saw them

as external objects able to be controlled by the European self.

If one’s comprehension is based on self, such comprehension

17 Ibid, 3.

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inevitably leads to an imposition of self on the other which

worse manifestation is the colonization of other peoples.

11. Interior Transcendentality / Exteriority

Dussel defines it as the uniqueness of the individual over

and above their social function (the humanity of a tyrant

regardless of this political position as an example).18 This is

an important concept, even as Dussel’s philosophy of liberation

challenges the Euro-centric focus on individualism. For Dussel,

this type of exteriority is the very foundation of the philosophy

of liberation. By setting the other interpreted through the lens

of an interior transcedentality, Dussel proposes a philosophy

based on conversation rather than imposition. That is, interior

transcendentality re-defines a totalizing exteriority that sees

the other as an object to be conquered instead as another subject

to relate with.

Yet, who is this other, containing interior

transcendentality, upon which the philosophy of liberation is

based on? Borrowing from Liberation theology, he defines the poor

18 Ibid, 47

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as the ultimate other. Later, he will define the poor using

biblical images of Job, meaning the one who suffers unjustly.19

That is, the poor as a category and a group, represents the

oppressed, the one under tyranny, the one under oppression. Even

at this juncture this definition goes beyond just material

poverty to include, women, minority, children and other groups.

From this perspective, liberation becomes the praxis that

subverts the system that alienates and oppresses the other.20 One

could also define it as the practice that dreams of an

alternative order in which the other is no longer alienated but

instead it is recognized by his/her interior transcendentality.

12. Locus of Enunciation

Walter Mignolo defined as the “disciplinary, geocultural and

position from which discourses of power and resistance are

elaborated.”21 In Mignolo’s context, he is using it to help

differentiate the Colonial from Decolonial perspectives arising

in scholarship. In a broader sense, it seeks to take into account

the cultural influences that inform and shape the views of those

19 Enrique Dussel, Historia de la Iglesia en America Latina : Coloniaje Y Liberacion (1492-1983), (Mexico: Mundo Negro, 1983), 34.20 Dussel, Philosophy of Liberation, 53.21 Moraña, Coloniality at Large: Latin America and the Postcolonial Debate, 3.

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producing knowledge. It also takes into the account the socio-

economic and political conditions that surround process of

knowledge formation.

It also speaks to the fact that not only content but also

interlocutor matters. At times, the same message can be said by

different people and therefore carry diametrically different

meanings. For example, a Portuguese historical account of his

travels to East Africa will carry a different meaning than a

local witnessing the same event. This does not apply only to

history but to any type of knowledge production.

13. Hubris of Point Zero

Concept developed by Santiago Castro-Gomez speaks of the

process by which European cartographers established Europe as the

geometric center of maps. Yet, they did so without demonstrating

where the point zero lied. This in itself was an innovation since

maps produced up to the point clearly stated their point of

reference. By doing so, they made a European point of reference

to be concealed and therefore be mistaken as a universal point of

view.22 This applied to other disciplines and spheres of

22 Santiago Castro-Gomez, “(Post)Coloniality for Dummies: Latin American Perspectives on Modernity, Coloniality and the Geopolitics of Knowledge.”, 278

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knowledge, yet the principle remained the same: a concealed point

of view can be mistaken as an unbiased and objective perspective.

This can also explain why European philosophy and social sciences

became neglectful of the geo-political realities that surrounded

their development.

14. Decoloniality

Mignolo proposes this concept as a movement in two

directions. The first one as a way to deconstruct the persistent

colonial legacy that continues to be perpetuated in a globalized

capitalistic world-system. The second has to do with building

decolonial futures, once the colonial heritage is identified and

new sources of resistance can by appropriated.23 That is, it

entails both a re-interpretation of the past along with a re-

imagination of future. What remains to be seen, is how far will

this decolonizing process rejects Western tools from Modernity

and how much of it will it appropriate towards a new vision of a

decolonial future. Ironically, Post/decolonial theories are

heavily indebted to high French philosophy. As they move forward,

23 Walter Mignolo, “Decolonizing Western Epistemelogy / Building Decolonial Epistemologies,” in Decolonizing Epistemologies : Latina/o Theology and Philosophy, edited by Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz and Eduardo Mendieta, (New York: Fordham University Press, 2012), 20.

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the tension between re-appropriating western epistemologies and

or create new ones will intensify. This wrestling is worth

pursuing before moving toward a more defined vision of a

decolonial future.

15. Heterarchic View of Power

Based on Foucault’s ideas proposed in his 1976-1978 lectures

to the College of France, Castro-Gomez proposed a heterarchic

view of power as an alternative to the hierarchical view of power

that dominates Post/decolonial thinking.24 In this way, power is

exerted not only vertically but as a complex interaction coming

from multiple directions. Castro-Gomez then uses this concept to

critique postcolonial thinking that tends to rely on a hierarchic

view that concentrates on the European exertion of political,

economic and cultural power on colonized lands. This concept,

therefore, broadens the scope of analysis to include other

interactions, even local interplays of power that are not

necessarily tied to a colonial relationship with Europe. Later in

this paper I will discuss the current religious environment

within Latin America that does not lend itself to a hierarchic

24 Santiago Castro-Gomez, "Michel foucault y la colonialidad del poder". (Tabula Rasa. no. 6:2007) 153-172.

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view of power. With a weakening Catholic church, a growing

evangelical church and the persistent presence of Afro-religions,

such environment lend itself to a heterarchic view of power that

takes into account all players rather than a dominant/dominated

view.

16. De-link

Anibal Quijano introduces the idea of de-linking as the only

possible way to decolonize thoroughly. That is, in order to

decolonize, one must first de-link from Euro-centrism and its

epistemological foundations developed in the Enlightenment and

Renaissance. This de-linking is the only way to decolonize

knowledge and therefore profoundly change the terms of

conversation.25 While Quijano’s contribution in uncovering

Eurocentrism in western epistemology is valid, I do wonder

whether this idea of de-linking requires a total rejection of the

Western ideas. Is it possible to have a full conversation without

Western modernity being represented? Here, Santos’ concept of

non-Occidental Europe may be helpful, in allowing a broader

25 Anibal Quijano, “Coloniality and Modernity/Rationality” in Globalization and the Decolonial Option. Edited by Walter Mignolo and Arturo Escobar, (London: Routledge, 2010). 22-32.

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appropriation of sources for the construction of a decolonial

future.

17. Colonial Difference

Term developed by Walter Mignolo corresponds to the space in

which the coloniality of power is exerted, creating direct

conflict with local histories in different times and geographical

places.26 Therefore, while applying directly to the Latin

American experience, it is not confined to the historical period

of colonialism but evident everywhere where coloniality of power

is felt. It is in this space, individuals attuned to their geo-

political situation can construct new epistemologies that

challenge and transcend hegemonic Euro-centric power structures

and cultural paradigms. This colonial difference is well

exemplified in the Post/decolonial critique of Postmodernity that

fails to take into account the colonial infrastructure that

enabled and perpetuated the modernist ideology. This can only

become evident, when the colonial difference as a place of

enunciation, is added to the analysis. This way, the colonial

26 Sara Castro-Klaren, “Posting Letters: Writing in the Andes and the Paradoxes of the Postcolonial Debate” In Coloniality at Large: Latin America and the Postcolonial Debate, edited by Mabel Moraña, 132.

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difference becomes the place where knowledge can be constructed

from the underside rather than the upper-side of history.

18. Non-Occidentalist West

A concept developed by Portuguese sociologist Boaventura de

Sousa Santos that sees non-Occidental thinking among European

figures of the past.27 That is, instead of considering all ideas

coming from Europe as Occidental, he proposes signs of internal

resistance to the dominant strands of Modernism in Europe. He

mentions Blaise Paschal, Nicholas of Cusa and Lucian of Samosata

as main representatives of this group. Expanding on this concept,

could one speak of a Non-Occidental Christianity? A persistent

assumption resident in Post/decolonial thinking is the

inseparability between Christianity and Europe. Wouldn’t a re-

visiting of the historical origins of Christianity be a path to

de-coloniality as well? Certainly the heritage of Christian

missions and the Medieval Christian justification for

colonization must be re-visited. Yet, couldn’t the religion of

the simple Nazarene, condemned and crucified by the Roman Empire,

27 Santos, Boaventura. "A Non-Occidentalist West?" Theory, Culture and Society(26, no. 7-8 (2009): 7-8) 105.

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be a subverting anti-colonial force for the oppressed of the

earth?

II. Sketches of an Ecumenical Post/decolonial Latin American

Theology

Introduction

What would a Post/decolonial ecumenical theology look like

within the Latin American context? First let me set some

parameters. By ecumenical here, I mean the main representatives

of the Christian faith within the continent namely Catholic and

Protestants. Yet, I will opt for Evangelical as that is how

Protestants mostly define themselves in these countries.

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Certainly, Afro-religions should be included in this dialogue.

Yet given the scope of this sketch, I will limit myself to

traditional Christian faiths which account for 88% of the Latin

American population.28 Considering the numerical size and the

long history of interaction between these two, a dialogue between

Catholics and Evangelicals seems a sensible starting point.

Once this is established it is worth asking why one should

use a Post/decolonial approach? One could argue that both of

these denominations were brought to the continent through the

colonial project. Therefore, an initial reaction would lead to

associate de-colonization with a de-Christianization of Latin

America. That has been the position of prominent Decolonial

thinkers like Walter Mignolo who argues for a radical

discontinuity with Christian theology and the Judeo-Christian

Scriptures in the process of decolonization.29 I would argue that

such assessment overlooks at least three important factors in

this discussion. First, it wrongly confines Christianity to be a

28 Pew Research Center, Nov. 13, 2014, “Religion in Latin America: Widespread Change in a Historically Catholic Region” http://www.pewforum.org/2014/11/13/religion-in-latin-america/ downloaded on 03/15/2015, 4.29 Walter Mignolo, “Decolonizing Western Epistemelogy / Building Decolonial Epistemologies,” 25.

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Western cultural artifact rather than a religious movement that

preceded it. Although Christian thought flourished in the

European continent, it traces its roots to the Hebrew culture and

boasts a legacy in Africa and Asia that preceded its arrival to

what is now considered the European continent.30 Second, it also

ignores the local character of the Latin American Christian

experience as both Catholicism and Protestantism underwent

tremendous changes in the process of indigenizing in Latin

American soil. Third, it overlooks an internal Christian

tradition of resistance exemplified in the work of Bartolome de

las Casas and the emergence of the Catholic liberation and

Protestant integral mission theologies. Given these three

factors, I would argue that it is possible to speak of Latin

American Christianity that is able to expose colonial tendencies

in the theology bequeathed to us without outright rejecting the

faith completely it, as it is now an undeniable part of Latin

American culture.

30 For more information on the history of early Non-European Christianity refer Philip Jenkins, The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia- and How It Died. (New York: HarperOne, 2008).

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With that said, I see Post/decolonial critique valid in

highlighting that the Catholic/Protestant divide is indeed a by-

product and heritage of the colonial project in the American

soil. The existing division of the Christian household in Latin

America originates in a historical moment from a different geo-

political situation. The political-theological struggles that

divided Europe in the 14th century have become the foundations

for the divisions in a twenty-first century (both Latin and

Anglo) American Christianity. Thus, recognizing that the basis

for division comes from different geo-historical place paves the

way to imagine a local Christianity that is re-imagined in a new

geo-historical place.

Certainly, this recognition is not sufficient to erase

entrenched dividing lines that have persisted for centuries. This

is especially true in the last fifty years where the fast-growth

of evangelicalism has significantly challenged a well-established

Catholic hegemony. The Catholic church has reacted with disdain

accusing Evangelicals of stealing converts. Evangelicals, on the

other hand, have built an identity around being the non-Catholic

Christians. Such contentious situation requires a type of border

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thinking slightly different from the one spelled out above. That

is, while border thinking related to an ability to think within

and outside a colonial perspective, here it means an ability to

think from both the Catholic and Evangelical perspective. This

staying in between that recognizes the colonial nature of the

division will be my starting point. In the following paragraphs I

will continue using these Post/decolonial terms in other to build

a common ground space upon which dialogue can begin.

Locus of Enunciation

Locus of enunciation is a helpful concept in understanding

how locality can shape the debate. In the Post/decolonial debate,

locus of enunciation is used to show how the geo-political space

from which one produces knowledge provides an undeniable

referential point. In the case of an ecumenical theology between

Catholics and Evangelicals, this concept sheds light into how a

diasporic Latin American experience in the United States may be

better poised for initiating and possibly leading this

conversation.

In the Latin American context, the differences between

Catholics and Evangelicals are accentuated given a history of

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hostility and significant power-struggle to influence society

politically and culturally. The growing evangelical numbers

foster a dynamic of empowerment of one side and of retrenchment

on the other. The evangelical segment sees opportunity for

growing in influence seeing no need to dialogue or join forces

with Catholics. The catholic segment on the other hand sees

Evangelicals as a direct threat to status quo position of

influence, therefore also not having an incentive to reach out in

dialogue. This dynamic is rather unfortunate given the tremendous

social problems that persistently face the Latin American

continent. Such chronic problems call out for a united response

from both segments. Instead, what we find is a grossly missed

opportunity to work for justice in a place of tragic inequality.

In the Anglo-American context, this dynamic changes

significantly. The Latin American immigrant finds him or herself

in a marginal position, devoid of influence or prestige.

Moreover, the outsider experience draws them together and helps

them see through denominational dividing lines. Further more; the

Anglo-American situation that does not count with a dominant

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state church like the Catholic role in Latin American societies

also creates a greater sense of equality among the groups. If

evangelical church is at times considered sects in Latin America,

in the Anglo-American context they are denominations (a term

usually only confined to the divisions within Protestantism but

in the United States is expanded to include the difference

between Catholics and Protestants). Thus, it was encouraging to

see one of the first efforts to build a Latino/a ecumenical

theology convened by Orlando Espin in 2009. This effort showed a

lot of promise and also illustrated how the immigrant experience

can be a unifying factor in bringing Catholics and evangelicals

together.31 From my perspective, a more robust treatment of

Post/decolonial factors would is warranted for a follow up

conversation yet the fact that it has happened is to be

celebrated. Hopefully, the dialogue started in this effort can

continue and makes its way down south.

Seeing the Other: From Conversion to Solidarity

When discussing Latin American theology, it is important to

realize the heterarchic nature of the relationships between

31 The dialogue was published as Orlando Espin, Building Bridges, Doing Justice : Constructing a Latino/a Ecumenical Theology. (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 2009).

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Catholics and evangelicals in the continent. For centuries, the

catholic majority was unchallenged in that to speak of being

Christian in the region was synonymous with being Catholic. This

situation has changed significantly altered with the rise of

evangelical churches in the last fifty years. Now nearing twenty

percent of the population, evangelicals have gained ground in

politics, economy and society in general. To be an evangelical is

no longer a reason for scorn but an accepted fact of the Latin

American reality. It is even more telling to note that the

majority of evangelical growth has come primarily from former

Catholics.32 While I will discuss further how this dynamic

affects the dialogue between these two segments, for now it is

important to see how a binary view of dominant/dominated will be

inadequate for this discussion. This may then question the

validity of using a purely Post/decolonial view for such

analysis. Yet, Post/decolonial terms can still be helpful tools

in uncovering inherited colonial patterns that affect both sides

of the conversation. Therefore, what I’ll do here is to overlay

these Post/decolonial concepts with a heterarchic view of power

32 Pew Research Center, “Religion in Latin America: Widespread Change in a Historically Catholic Region,” 5.

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that will allow to both recognize inherited imperial behaviors

without making sweeping assumptions that these behaviors are

present only in one group.

One can then begin by looking at coloniality of power. The

logic of the coloniality of power makes the other an object to be

studied, controlled and molded. Through its epistemological

perspective, it defined the Amerindians and Africans as inferior

therefore justifying European domination over these ethnicities.

In doing so, it trampled over their alterities, totalizing it

into a rigid category of difference. Through this logic, the

taking over of lands, extermination of communities and

enslavement of a people were justified. Tragically, the Judeo-

Christian sacred text was used to legitimize this thinking until

it was replaced by a secular rationale by the nineteenth century.

Recognizing and owning this reality is a responsibility not only

of Catholics but also of Protestants who were part of the second

phase of colonization.

In the ecumenical sphere, this logic spilled over into the

idea of conversion. As Justo Gonzales, pointed out, both catholic

and evangelical churches approached conversion as a total

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rejection of their original culture. 33 In the Catholic case, the

Amerindian other was told to reject their culture in other to

embrace a new religion and way of thinking. In the Evangelical

case, conversion meant a complete rejection of a catholic faith.

Thus, the pattern was perpetuated and is at the heart of the

current division between the two segments of the faith

I wonder if the emblematic conversion experience of Saul of

Tarsus in the New Testament can be informative for this dilemma.

New Testament scholars are re-defining Saul’s conversion as a

Christo-phany followed by a commission within Judaism rather than

a wholesale religious conversion.34 That better explains why Paul

would later continue to identify himself with the Jewish faith. I

wonder then whether I conversion from Catholicism to

Evangelicalism could similarly be a change within Christianity

rather than a religious conversion. Possibly such view could help

foster a respect for the values and alterity of the other while

33 Justo Gonzalez,”Reinventing Dogmatics: A Footnote from a Reinvented Protestant” in From the Heart of Our People : Latino/a Explorations in Catholic Systematic Theology. Edited by Orlando O. Espin and Miguel H. Diaz. (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1999) 224. 34 For a good discussion on the controversy and the emerging consensus consult: David B. Capes, Rodney Reeves, and E. Randolph Richards. Rediscovering Paul: An Introduction to His World, Letters, and Theology, (Downers Grove, Ill: IVP Academic,2007), 90-94.

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also recognizing the commonalities that unite the two different

groups.

Moreover, in a time where theological thinking is becoming

increasingly cognizant of context, could it be that very origin

of our separation lies in a refusal to contextualize? That is,

holding to a radical view of conversion may be more about

enforcing a Western interpretation of Christianity into Latin

American context than proclaiming the message of the New

Testament. If so, what would it look like for a de-colonial

theology to embrace both a catholic heritage and an evangelical

perspective? This certainly is a tall order and not without

serious challenges. Yet, by recognizing the colonial heritage of

our division we may be able to better address it rather than

accepting it as part of our denominational identity.

Instead, and still borrowing from Paul’s example, it is less

about a change of religions and more about a Christophany that

re-awakens a dormant faith. This may become clear when looking at

the current migration from Catholicism to Evangelicalism. When

asked why Catholics converted, the majority indicated “seeking a

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personal connection with God” as the main reason.35 Consequently

such migration may be more out of dissatisfaction with the

Official Catholic church which does not represent the totality of

the catholic experience in Latin America. In this way, the

conversion is less about a change of religion but more of an

awakening to the Christian religion. This view certainly can

better explain why the Charismatic arm of the catholic church is

growing while the overall number of Catholics is in decline. In

some countries like Brazil and Panama they already account for

over half of those who define themselves as Catholics.36 That is,

the problem is not denominational allegiance but of the quality

of the religious experience.

Thus, re-defining the change of religions affiliations less

as conversion and more as an awakening helps open the way for a

conversation. This way, the issue is less about fighting for

allegiances but helping the faithful find a connection with God.

In that vein, evangelical churches need to be aware and avoid the

hubris to believe that their recent success is permanent. The

35 Pew Research Center, “Religion in Latin America: Widespread Change in a Historically Catholic Region,” 5.36 Ibid, 64.

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growth of the unaffiliated attest to the reality that the changes

in religious landscape are not limited to change of denomination

but also by an increasing number of those who dissociate

themselves from Christianity completely.

A Pneumatological Approach

A promising approach to start de-linking Latin American from

its divisive colonial heritage is to emphasize the

pneumatological aspect of Christian theology. As demonstrated

above, the segments associated with the experience of the Spirit,

be it Pentecostals and Neo-Pentecostals in the evangelical side

and Charismatics in the Catholic side; represent the most vibrant

segments of the Christian faith in the region. Thus, considering

this common strength, Carmen Nanko-Fernandez proposed the Spirit-

Filled Mary as a beginning point for an ecumenical approximation

between Evangelicals and Catholics.37 This is a good start as it

speaks of the Spirit which is dear to Evangelicals and Mary which

is dear to Catholics. Yet, considering the long history of

contention about Mary, I find her unlikely to be a fruitful place

37 Carmen Nanko-Fernandez, “From Pajaro to Paraclete: Retrieving the Spirit of God in the Company of Mary” in Building Bridges, Doing Justice : Constructing a Latino/a Ecumenical Theology, edited by Orlando Espin.

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bring these two parties to the table. Instead, I propose a

pneumatological approach grounded on the experience of the

Spirit. The Spirit, as the living presence of the Trinity among

us, is present not only in religious celebrations but in all

aspects of life. A pneumatological way is one of experiencing

God’s presence in solidarity, transformative justice and peace.

This is a rather attractive option, not the least because of the

growing charismatization that is happening both evangelicalism

and Catholicism but also because it grounds it on the cotidiano -

the daily life.

The Spirit represents the link and the communion among the

different members of the Trinity. Therefore, one can see the

Spirit as the enabler of hybridity: the one who brings different

members together is also one that illumines those who come from a

hybrid background.

The Spirit is also the one that fosters decolonial imagination as

the one who is at work in all cultures. If Christ represents the

uniqueness of the Christian faith, the Spirit represents its

universality. The Spirit also taps into the sense of dependency

which is present in both popular Catholicism and Evangelicalism.

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Whether be in the holy objects and religious processions, the

Spirit is present in the devotion of the faithful.

A pneumatological approach does not mean glossing over

significant theological differences between the two groups. The

strong reliance on saints and Mary as mediators in catholic

popular practice will continue to be point of contention between

the two segments. These divergences, while brought over in the

colonial project, have become identity markers that undermine

dialogue on the short-term. Yet, a pneumatological approach that

begins with the experience of the Spirit shared in both segments

can lay the ground for further cooperation.

Ecumenical Praxis: Doing theology in the Cotidiano

If we are to follow a pneumatology unhindered by a filioque

notion; one that limits the Spirit’s activity to the work of the

church; then there may be a way to bring ecumenical theology into

praxis. I propose here a pneumatological view that affirms life

in all spheres of society. I understand that this notion can get

misunderstood as the protection of life in the womb or in the

discussion of capital punishment. Yet, I believe a Latin American

36

context calls for a broader affirmation of life. The biggest

destroyer of life in our continent is the entrenched violence

that claims young lives, dashes children’s dreams and make all of

us prisoners of fear. Whether be the political violence

exemplified in the struggle between the Colombian state and the

FARC, the drug conflict that plagues Mexico and most Latin

American capitals, the random “strayed bullet” phenomenon that

claims life at will, the criminal violence inflicted by thugs in

the favelas or even the domestic violence which a husband

inflicts on his wife and children. All these are symptoms of an

insidious root of violence that threatens to undermine any of the

political and social-economic progress the continent has achieved

in the last twenty years. Therefore, a pneumatological defense

for life should call Catholics and Evangelicals in an alliance to

address violence in the proclamation of the king of peace.

Here a post/decolonial analysis may be helpful in unearthing

the roots of injustice that breed this unending cycle of

violence. Latin American peripherally dependent economies need to

be transformed. Even as I write, Brazil is witnessing its

currency devalue drastically for concerns with political

37

instability. This is just one example of how Latin American

economies continue to suffer under the irrational rule of world

markets. The ecumenical conversation should not necessarily

provide a new political vision but instead to foster hope,

offering the unending belief in restoration that flows from the

resurrection. This vision of human flourishing includes

environmental stewardship, and is not limited to GDP. This way,

the church can provide an alternative picture of the future that

supplants and replaces the unending lure of neo-liberal idea of

development that focuses on the bottom line with little regard

for human advancement and ecological thriving.

Conclusion

So here are the first sketches of a post/decolonial

ecumenical theology in the Latin American contest: 1) It begins

with a recognition of our locus of enunciation, especially the

opportune position of Latin Americans in the diaspora; 2) It

moves from conversion to awakening, recognizing the centrality of

Christ in both segments of Christianity and the importance of the

experience in the life of the faithful; 3) It paves a

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Pneumatological path by emphasizing the common work the Spirit

among Catholics and evangelicals; 4) It calls for united action

to address violence proclaiming the Prince of peace.

I end this theological sketch with an anecdote from my

personal life. Last year, a dear uncle of mine passed away in

Brazil. He married into our extended family and was somewhat

unique as a catholic aggregated into a family with strong

Presbyterian roots. Throughout his life, I do not recall him ever

officially “converting.” Yet, his life taught all of us that

Christian character transcends denominational allegiances. In his

funeral, a curious situation happened where both families were

gathered, one strongly Catholic and another deeply Evangelical.

At that moment, in his honor, they both joined possibly for the

first time for either family in an ecumenical service. More

importantly, they were able to find common simple songs to sing

together.

This scene of Catholics and Evangelicals joined in musical

worship is a beautiful picture of a Latin American ecumenical

theology. Roberto Gozietta speaks that joint theology would be

less like a traditional European type propositional treatise and

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more like a “theopoetics” much like the songs we sing in our

churches.38 As we mourn together for the victims of violence in

solidarity, as we join together in political action for peace and

as we partake the body of the ultimate victim of violence in

history in the Eucharist/communion - that is how we build

Post/decolonial pneumatological ecumenical theology grounded in

the cotidiano and in the practice of our faith.

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