Base Ecumenism narrates over a century of the history of ecumenical movements, showing how Latin American Christians have reshaped ecumenism since the first half of the twentieth century. The book demonstrates how Latin American ecumenists and, later, liberationists – both Protestant and Catholic – transformed spaces once dominated by Eurocentric norms while challenging the initial aspirations of ecumenists and missionaries from the United States and Europe.
The book offers, among many other important insights, two major contributions for historians of Christianity: (1) a more appropriate way to frame the so-called Latin American evangelical left and (2) a nuanced understanding of liberation Christianity, including indispensable contributions to the historical development of Latin American liberation theology.
Regarding the Latin American evangelical left, Base Ecumenism challenges the overly common tendency to exaggerate the importance of the first International Congress on World Evangelization – often referred to as Lausanne 74 – and its legacies for the region. Such tendencies have gone so far as to compare the impact of Lausanne 74 to that of Vatican II. Base Ecumenism, rather than focusing on Lausanne evangelicals, outlines the events that preceded the Third World Movement and its cumulative effects on theological networks that became decidedly invested in structural justice. Barreto reminds us that Presbyterian Ruben Alves published his work on liberation theology before Gustavo Gutiérrez, and six years before the Lausanne meeting. Iglesia y Sociedad en America Latina (ISAL) had worked in the region, sharing a Protestant progressive witness for over a decade before it ceased operations in the mid-1970s, calling Protestant Christians to participate in the revolutionary process in Latin America. While U.S.-sponsored dictatorships often persecuted Protestants associated with ISAL and analogous groups, Lausanne 74 evangelicals, as fraught as their relationships with the U.S. evangelical establishment might have been at times, were frequently perceived by authoritarian governments as qualified allies for the establishment of more traditional social norms.
Although the influences of groups and movements like ISAL, Centro de Estudos Bíblicos (Bible Study Center – CEBI), Fraternidad Teológica Latinoamericana , and Missión Integral are not hermetically sealed, Base Ecumenism invites us to consider potential qualitative differences and significant discontinuities among Latin American evangelical groups in the second half of the twentieth century. The book reminds us that if there was a Latin American evangelical left, it is to be found primarily in the spaces Barreto identifies, many of which have later transitioned to broader interventions in politics and civil society.
When it comes to Base Ecumenism’s contribution to a richer understanding of liberation Christianity, including Latin American liberation theology, the book provides the needed specificity about how Latin American actors played an important role in global ecumenical spaces. Two critical figures that Barreto discusses are central to Latin American global influences: (1) Paulo Freire, the father of critical pedagogy, and (2) Dom Hélder Câmara, the former archbishop of Olinda and Recife.
It is generally known, especially in Northeastern Brazil, that one cannot discuss the development of Catholic Latin American liberation theology without careful consideration of Freire’s and Câmara’s trajectories. Yet significant parts of their stories and legacies remain unknown and come to light through new interpretative modes in Base Ecumenism. For example, Barreto highlights Freire’s role in shaping the education programs in the World Council of Churches in the middle of the twentieth century, as well as how his work inspired methods of popular reading of the Bible used by initiatives like CEBI, which represents a Catholic-Protestant coalition that remains influential in different spaces in Latin America today. The Ecclesial Base Communities (CEBs) also adopted Freire’s pedagogy, which, in turn, influenced several movements, including what is today the world’s largest social movement, Brazil’s Landless Workers’ Movement (MST), with over 2 million members. Barreto shows how Freire’s work was global in many ways, both in development and impact.
Turning to Câmara, arguably the most influential interpreter of Vatican II in Latin America, Base Ecumenism shows how he was instrumental for the creation of a Third World coalition of bishops – including in the founding of the first regional collegial episcopal structure, CELAM, which later became an indispensable site for the articulation of Catholic Latin American liberation theology as it became predominantly known in English-speaking academic spaces. Barreto shows how, in ways analogous to those of other Latin American bishops, such as St. Oscar Romero, Câmara underwent several conversions, moving from sympathies with conservative movements to, later, being called a communist for his commitment to social justice.
In addition, the role of Latin Americans in networks such as the ones nurtured by the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians (EATWOT) and the World Forum on Theology and Liberation (WFTL), which the book also documents, highlighting the importance of ecumenical spaces where “epistemologies of the south” and multidirectional coalitions took root. However, the full implications of these institutions’ legacies are yet to be studied and analyzed, perhaps a direction for future projects.
Base Ecumenism is an essential companion for tracing the history of liberation theology in Latin America and the global impact of Latin American Christians, including people and movements that can be considered a more authentic manifestation of the “evangelical left” in the region. Importantly, the book benefits from Barreto’s multilingual capacities, cross-cultural sensibilities, and experiential awareness. The book draws not only on meticulous archival research but also on a set of life experiences that entail deeply empirical entanglements, allowing for a sustained investigation of interconnected developments that are too often misunderstood.
