The impact of Archbishop Oscar Romero's alliance with the struggle for liberation of the Salvadoran people: A discussion of church-state relations (El Salvador)

Archbishop Oscar Romero symbolizes, for many Salvadorans more than a decade after his death, the spirit of a struggle to liberate the poor and powerless from the repression of the privileged few who wield social, economic and political power in El Salvador. As archbishop, Romero shifted the church’s emphasis from one of church-state complicity to a church intent on defending its poor. Traditionally, the church had been aligned with the aims and methods of the ruling families of El Salvador. Romero found this alliance unacceptable in light of the socio-political reality that found the majority of Salvadorans being forced to live in abject poverty through the complicity of the three major Salvadoran institutions: church, state and military. Instead Romero, mirroring the ministries of rural progressive priests, placed the church firmly on the side of the poor. For the first time, the people of El Salvador had the support of one of its institutional leaders. This thesis is an examination of a shift in state-church relations, how this shift redefined the church’s role in society and how it attained the support of the people and the ire of the oligarchy. The thesis begins by exploring the history of the church in Latin America in order to demonstrate the dynamics of church-state relations in El Salvador. The second chapter delves into Romero’s ministry uncovering the activities that brought him in conflict with the ruling classes. The third chapter examines why Romero developed the typed of ministry he did and how he attempted to act in accordance with his understanding of God and what God willed for the people of El Salvador. Finally the conclusion returns to a discussion of the impact of the church’s realigning itself with the people.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Religion & Culture / Religious Studies

Year dc:date

1991

Author dc:creator

• Eaton, Helen-May

Contributors dc:contributor

• Kay Koppedrayer

• Missions and World Christianity

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/116

OAI record oai:identifier

https://scholars.wlu.ca/do/oai/?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=oai_etdms&identifier=oai%3Ascholars.wlu.ca%3Aetd-1115