Religion as an Empowerer of the Oppressed: A Study of Liberation Theology, Engaged Buddhism, and Pentecostal Serpent Handlers

Abstract

Liberation theology, "engaged Buddhism" (specifically the movement started by Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar), and the Pentecostal serpent handling faith all share one commonality: they appear to empower the oppressed of their particular cultures. The first two movements arose as a response to particular social circumstances of oppression, while the third simply occurred within oppressive structures. While both liberation theology and Ambedkar's movement used religion as a "tool" to attempt to change the social, political, and economic situations of the oppressed, the serpent handling movement did not arise out of this same conscious effort to form an instrument of social action. The snake handlers can be better categorized as representative of a religion that has "built-in" empowering capabilities, meaning that these capabilities were not deliberately constructed but are a major aspect of the tradition. . . . The question that I wish to answer in this thesis is whether or not these attempts at gaining power truly have been successful in bringing these groups of people out of the oppression that they experience. [From Introduction]