Origins and Prospects of the Option for the Poor in Brazilian Catholicism

A number of theories or models have emerged to explain the rise and pervasiveness of the for the in Brazilian Catholicism. First, the maintains that the option is primarily a product of elite initiative. A second perspective, posited largely by liberation theologians, insists that the option can be understood only as a grassroots phenomenon. Finally, a compromise borrows on elements of both the and grassroots models. Proponents of this school argue that the Church's adoption of the cause of the poor is the result of an interplay between forces at both the base and the hierarchy of Brazilian Catholicism. Although the popularity of the latter two models has grown considerably in recent years, this paper argues that both the grassroots and compromise positions suffer from a number of deficiencies, most of which can be traced to a lack of solid empirical grounding. Furthermore, these more recent innovations appear to say little about where the Church and the option may be headed. The utility of the institutional approach in this regard is demonstrated by application of the model to current events on the Brazilian religious scene, events which reveal the for the to be on the verge of serious decline.