Abstract
Continuing the theme of the contested character of religious discourse, this chapter describes a study of liberation theology-inspired social movements in the Philippines, arguing that perhaps the normal situation for left actors who seek to operate in contexts where a religion is culturally dominant is that they will have to fight for the right to speak and for control over the meanings of that discourse. Nadeau describes how the model of bottom-up development pursued by the Basic Christian Community (BCC) farmers transformed their relationship to religion, so that it became more than just ritual observance. Her chapter is a pointed study in the way that political and religious meanings are produced in one and the same moment of struggle. She also shows that they may be subject to challenge also couched in religious terms, with the BCC facing the specific accusation that they were too closely aligned with (atheistic) communists.
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Nadeau, K. (2022). Theologies of Struggle, Marxism, and Grassroots Development in the Philippines. In: Kirkpatrick, G., McMylor, P., Fadaee, S. (eds) Marxism, Religion, and Emancipatory Politics. Marx, Engels, and Marxisms. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91642-8_9
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