Alternative Development Approach of Ecological Liberation Theology

Abstract

Neoliberal approaches to solving problems of climate change are further increasing the gap between the rich and poor, by promoting development projects in the affected communities that may empower some people but not everyone. Some indi-viduals benefit by being given jobs and material goods but other individuals are left wanting. A creative alternative development approach to that of neoliberal capital-ism and globalization is being put into practice by some of the frontline churches and community organizers partnering with Philippine faith-based communities to build what Armstrong (2008) refers to as communities of compassion, also called social geographies of compassion, from the perspective of ecological liberation the-ology. This ecological theology movement is a revolutionary social and environ-mental peace and justice movement that bridges differences and brings people together for a common cause. Theoretically, it articulates not only reading scripture in accordance with the spirit of the letter, across different world religions and phi-losophies but, also, a creative and non-dogmatic eco-feminist and neo-Marxist per-spective. However, while Marx argued that religion serves to legitimate the privileges of elite classes by disguising socio-cultural and economic inequities of production, this brief takes the more flexible position that religion can liberate as well as oppress. The concept of religion used in eco-liberation theology is not some abstract or universal notion, but, rather is discursively, practically, materially, and specifically, grounded (Nadeau 2002, p. 75). Marx (1972, p. 14) looked at religion as an aspect of ideology. He showed how humans think about their practices and circumstances and, then, how thoughts spur action. In this sense, Marx used religion as an aspect of ideology to study the content and structure of the ruling classes. He showed how these classes used ideology in such a way to persuade other classes to provide them services on a voluntary or abject and low wage basis. Marx's concepts, like any other theoretical ideas, are best seen as entry points for social analysis. They offer an open-ended approach, not a fixed model, for the study of social and religious movements from an insider-outsider perspective. Late twen-tieth century Philippine liberation theologians, like De la Torre (1986), Gaspar (1990), and Cacayan and Miclat (1991) wrote about the local organized Basic 34 Christian Community movement as a self-conscious and enlightened new social movement that acted on its own behalf. In the 1990s, Nadeau (1995, p. 31; see, also, 2002) observed that the social contexts in which Basic Christian Communities interacted with other people (employers, landlords, military personnel, government officials, disinterested neighbors) and the institutional Church were situations in which new ideas and cultural forms were continuously being introduced, negoti-ated, and transformed. Members were not necessarily subordinated to the Church hierarchy, but utilized resources and opportunities the Church provided to promote their own interests. Basic Christian Community participants consciously employ traditional ideas to resist being fragmented by capitalist relations of production as when farmers collaborate together in planting and harvesting their crops or building each others' homes, not for wages but in the spirit of community. Their struggle for liberation continues into the present day, to be expressed through the agencies of Christian ceremonial activities and symbols (Ileto 1979; Gasper, pers. comm. 1991). The nationwide Basic Christian Community movement was organized, in full force, in the context of the Martial Law regime of the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship, from 1972 until 1986. At that time, except for the church, most major institutions—the congress, courts, political parties, labor organizations, newspapers, and public broadcasting networks—were severely repressed by Marcos's military. As a result, the political significance of the Church grew clearer. It became the spokesperson for the rights of the poor and oppressed. Church leaders referred to the social teachings of Vatican II (1962–1965) to promote social justice (Bolasco and Yu 1981; Fabros 1988, p. 14; Youngblood 1990, Ch. 4). During the Marcos dictatorship, the government lumped all Christians critical of martial law into a radical left (Youngblood 1990). Press and media campaigns were directed against the Basic Christian Communities, bishops sympathetic to martial law were briefed and shown films that linked priests and nuns to so-called subver-sives Bolasco and Yu 1981, p. 130). Many Filipinos still continued to join the Basic Christian Community alliance against social injustices, risking their lives in the process, even after the popular people power revolution overthrew the Marcos regime, which lasted from 1965 to 1986. For example, youths joined a cultural dance and theatrical troop called the Progressive Religious Association of Youth, Enlightenment, and Redemption (PRAYER, which served as the cultural arm of the Basic Christian Community movement), which provides free educational entertain-ment for strikers, demonstrators, victims of human rights abuses, and Basic Christian Community members in distant barrios. Many were illegally arrested, tortured, and framed by the subsequent Aquino administration for alleged crimes such as murder and robbery (Nadeau 2002). For this reason, the next President Ramos's declaration of political amnesty did not affect the status of these detainees, charged for common crimes (Nadeau 1995, p. 64). This practice of harassing, arresting, framing, and summarily executing often innocent civilians, including those who visibly question the social order to stand up for their rights—the right to own the land that they farm and for which they often have a legal title—continues, as of 2016, under the guise of President Rodrigo Duterte's (May, 2016—present) shock and awe policy that orders his military and policemen to shoot to kill whoever they perceive to be 7 Alternative Development Approach of Ecological Liberation Theology