The Asian context

Liberation theology differs from other theologies in that it starts with ananalysis of the context, as it wants to respond to the cries of the people arisingfrom it. As contextual theology we can distinguish it by regions - Latin American,African, Asian, European - and by social groups such as the poor, women, blacks,Dalits, indigenous peoples. However, none of these social or geographicalidentities can be understood in isolation. Contexts and identities are multipleand overlapping. The realities of class, caste, patriarchy and ethnicity, and oflocal, regional and global economy are intertwined. A Dalit girl working in afactory in an export-processing zone in India is exploited as an underpaid worker- like other workers around the globe - and suffers from a lack of protection bytrade-union rights, while as a woman she suffers from male domination and violence- as other women do - whereas she shares her plight as an 'untouchable' sufferingfrom caste oppression with other outcastes, male and female, in India.

What is specific about Asia, especially in contrast with Latin America, is thereligio-cultural context. The overwhelming majority of the poor and oppressed inAsia are non-Christians, many of whom adhere to a wide variety of popularreligious traditions which are more or less connected with the traditions of thegreat religions which have shaped dominant Asian cultures. Yet within Asia thereare again tremendous differences. Latin America is, compared to Asia, a relativelyhomogeneous continent in terms of history, language, economic and politicaldevelopments. Asia has to be subdivided into various regions with differentcultural, religious, political and economic histories.