Women’s theologies, women’s pedagogies: Globalization, education, and liberation in nicaragua

Abstract

Through semi-structured interviews with female social movement participants in Nicaragua, I ask, How do women in Nicaraguan social movements perceive the influence of theology on these movements pedagogies? I argue that through this work, the women cultivate what I deem personal theologies rooted in their understanding of their own reality. The study emerged at the intersection of Theologies of Liberation, Pedagogies of Liberation, Globalization, and Social Movement theories. In this chapter, I discuss the following main themes from the interviews: Moving Past Doctrine; Liberation as It Connects to Gender, Struggles Against Violence, Globalization and Spirituality, and Rebellion and Spirituality. Ultimately, I argue that the women perceive, as in the central research question, the influence of theology on their pedagogies as an influence that leads to the women liberation. This concept of liberation motivates women to participate in the struggle against neoliberal globalization through nonformal and formal education that contributes, ultimately, to holistic community development.