Liberation Theology and Structural Poverty: A Conceptual Analysis of Gustavo Gutiérrez and Ali Shariati's Thought

Abstract

Liberation theology has produced influential critiques of structural injustice across civilizations, yet comparative scholarship connecting Catholic and Islamic liberation thought remains limited. This study compares the theological frameworks of Gustavo Gutiérrez, a founding figure of Latin American liberation theology, and Ali Shariati, an Iranian Islamic thinker, with attention to their conceptualizations of structural poverty and social justice. Using a qualitative comparative textual study and conceptual analysis guided by contextual hermeneutics, the study analyzes their principal works and a screened body of secondary literature through a codebook of seven analytical dimensions. The results show functional-ethical convergence: both thinkers treat religion as an emancipatory force, prioritize praxis, criticize institutional complicity in poverty, and emphasize the agency of the oppressed. They diverge in ontological premises (Christology versus Tawhid), epistemological sources, and political vision. The study contributes a conceptual synthesis and an integrative model that links a shared understanding of social justice to coordinated responses to structural poverty, moderated by national context. The model is offered as a conceptual proposition for Southeast Asia and requires empirical testing. The findings support interfaith discourse on religion-based social justice while preserving the doctrinal differences between the two traditions.