Elaine Padilla

Base Ecumenism

Theology

“Base Ecumenism calls attention to the multiple irruptions of the Global South from the in-between spaces of imperial and colonial systems of western, northern Christian missions. In decolonial manner, it exposes the vinculum between geopolitical and religious interests prevalent in ecumenical movements, yet also the collective struggle in Latin American churches against domination that led to a shift in consciousness from non-personhood to historical and political subjectivity. Before the reader, structures that seemed irreversible begin to crumble as democratic ideals and commitments to social change rooted in the Latin American milieu spread through transnational transnational networks, creating a sense of oikumene as interdependence and connectedness.”