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The primary concepts of this brand of Catholic theology include viewing God as a liberator of humanity and the need for solidarity in sentiment and action with the poor and downtrodden of the world (Fahlbusch & Bromiley 1997, pp. 259). Simply put, liberation theology posits that God exists as a liberator for all of the people of the world, and that it is the job of the Church and its members to bring about this liberation of the world's population inasmuch as is possible through direct action assisting the poor and through larger social and governmental interventions (Fahlbusch & Bromiley 1997, pp. 258-64).
One of the central elements of liberation theology is to read the signs of the times in light of the gospels (Fahlbusch & Bromiley 1997, pp 259). This requires that real-world current events be analyzed according to the commandments and interpreted values of the scriptures, and that action be performed from this same perspective. Working proactively to change situations of injustice and oppression are necessitated by this "trading the signs" perspective.
Also important in the concept of liberation theology is what has been identified, at times derogatorily, as the "preferential option for the poor" that this worldview seems to imply (Fahlbusch & Bromiley 1997, pp. 262). Some have claimed that liberation theology seems to imply that God loves the poor and oppressed more than those who are not so oppressed in this world, which flies in the face of the supposedly universal and equal spread of God's love,...
Oppression is inherently antithetical to the values expounded by the Bible, and thus liberation must be the goal of social and governmental action in this world. This carries with it a certain encumbrance on those who purport to be carrying out God's will to engage with those segments of the population that are oppressed in order to liberate them -- thus creating a world that struggles more for the benefit of the poor and the oppressed than others, creating what some have termed a "referential" treatment and view of the poor in liberation theology.
Regardless of how the views of liberation theology are stated, or even what many of the differing precise conclusions that are supported by the theology may be, the overall essential aspect of the theology is that God -- and thus God's followers -- work towards liberating those in need of liberation. The specifics of this theology have spread to cover not only the poor, but many other marginalized group, and always with the same sense that promoting equality and ending oppression by man is essential to bringing about God's world in this one.
References
Consistent Life.prg. (2010). Accessed 19 May 2010. http://www.consistent-life.org/
Fahlbusch, E. & Bromiley, G. (1997). The encyclopedia of Christianity, Vol. 3. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing.
Overberg, K. (2010). "A consistent ethic of life." Accessed 19 May 2010. http://www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/CU/ac0798.asp
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