Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2016

Abstract

Pervasive throughout postmodern theological perspectives is the contention that all theology is contextual. One's knowledge and understanding of God, the natural world, human beings and their interrelations is inescapably filtered through overlaid lenses of language, culture, history, socioeconomic status, religious traditions, and faith experience. "Teologia en Conjunto" (literally, "in conjunction with;' "conjoined to") expresses the conviction of a growing number of Latino theologians that this nexus of influencing contextual factors is not tangential to but rather formative of one's theology. The social, cultural or ethnic location of Latinos, consciously or unconsciously, shapes how they interpret life experiences as well as biblical history and doctrinal teaching. Endemic to this approach are three core aspects: ( 1) the recognition that Latino traditions and ethnicities are not homogenous but richly diverse (e.g., Cuban, Mexican American, Puerto Rican); (2) theology is best done not as an individualistic endeavor but rather from within a communal, collaborative faith context where diverse voices are acknowledged and taken seriously; and (3) an adequate theology must seek to be integrative, taking stock of individual and corporate, social and religious, physical and spiritual, academic and practical aspects.

Comments

Originally published in Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States, 5 Volumes, edited by George Thomas Kurian and Mark A. Lamport, 2016, pg. 1099-1100, reproduced by permission of Rowman & Littlefield.

https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781442244313/The-Encyclopedia-of-Christianity-in-the-United-States-5-Volumes

All rights reserved. Please contact the publisher for permission to copy, distribute or reprint.

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