Swope, John Wolfgang.; (1992) The production, recontextualization and popular transmission of religious discourse : the case of liberation theology and basic Christian communities in Santiago, Chile. Doctoral thesis , Institute of Education, University of London.

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Abstract

Since 1968, Basic Christian Communities (BCCs) have been promoted by the Chilean Catholic hierarchy as a defensive institutional response to increased religious disaffection and increased political radicalization among marginalized catholics, within a wider context which has featured both institutional reform of the Catholic Church and reformist social change in Chile. This climate of reform within the Catholic Church has given rise generally to increased flexibility in institutional and pedagogic contexts, and has given rise more particularly to a positive appreciation of popular religious discourse and practice, as seen in the emergence of liberation theologies and BCCs. Against this historical background, the aim of the thesis is to describe and understand the informal means of transmission of religious culture realized by a range of pedagogic practices in a highly selected sample of BCCs. In the opening section, the object of this research is introduced, and the main research perspectives are discussed. The main concepts of a language for a sociological analysis of the production, recontextualization and informal popular transmission of religious culture are defined. Significant theoretical issues are discussed in the light of pertinent research literature. A brief historical account of the field work and a wider discussion of methodology closes Part I. Part II considers the three fundamental fields: the Field of Production of Theological Discourse, the Recontextualizing Field and the Field of Pedagogic Practice of the BCC. An analysis is made of the deep level rules (theological codes) in institutional and pedagogic contexts within each field, together with a discussion of the role of the animator. A discussion of the interrelatedness of the fields will conclude Part II. Part III focuses on an analysis of eight Bccs selected as examples of types varying according to the social class position of the members and previous religious socialization. This analysis takes the form of a detailed description of twenty-two (22) meetings of the BCC which examines the theological orientation of forms of participation, of the representations of social relations and of strategies for change. A concluding chapter discusses similarities and differences among theological codes, and the relation of these to religious discourse and popular practice in contemporary Chile.

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