“Popular Mysticism” of Jorge Álvarez Calderón: Liberation Theology and the representation of the popular movement in Peru
This article presents the first academic approach to the figure of diocesan priest Jorge Álvarez Calderón (1930-2020), a key figure in the intellectual community of theologian Gustavo Gutiérrez and in the dissemination of liberation theology in Peru. First, it explains the historiographical debate a...
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| Formato: | Artículo revista |
| Lenguaje: | Español |
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Investigaciones Socio-Históricas Regionales (ISHIR) Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) Universidad Nacional de Rosario (UNR)
2025
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| Acceso en línea: | https://ojs.rosario-conicet.gov.ar/index.php/AvancesCesor/article/view/2174 |
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| Sumario: | This article presents the first academic approach to the figure of diocesan priest Jorge Álvarez Calderón (1930-2020), a key figure in the intellectual community of theologian Gustavo Gutiérrez and in the dissemination of liberation theology in Peru. First, it explains the historiographical debate and the historical context of the relationship between liberation Catholicism and social movements in Peru. Then it situates Álvarez Calderón’s leadership within this political-religious context. Second, this article analyzes the representations of popular culture in five articles by Álvarez Calderón published in the journal Páginas, a publication for analysis and opinion by Peruvian liberationist intellectuals and activists. These articles aimed to cultivate a mystique of Catholic militancy in the context of the 1980s, a period characterized by changes in the relationship between the state and grassroots social organizations, as well as challenges to the orthodoxy of Gustavo Gutiérrez’s ideas. These texts are a window into the theological and political language employed by the intellectual community surrounding Gutiérrez to construct a narrative that highlights the pastoral and spiritual nature of the liberation theology project in Peru and defends its distinctive personality from ideological banners or political parties. |
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