“You always have the poor with you” Reflections on poverty, religion and values in a Latin American context

Are religion, values and ethics important in order to understand poverty? How is religion treated in “main stream” social sciences? Should the study of poverty be a normative exercise as well? Who are the poor and how (if at all) do they matter in a competitive and globalized world? What does the various churches and theologies, particularly in a Latin American context, say about poverty and its causes? How do religion and politics interact in their approach to poverty?

These, and other related questions, will be debated and reflected upon in this argumentative seminar where you are invited to actively participate. 

Hans Geir Aasmundsen is a scholar at CROP/UiB Global and is currently finishing his Ph.D. dissertation on the Pentecostal movements in Argentina.

Hans Egil Offerdal is head of CROP’s Latin American programme and has worked extensively with liberation theologies and Catholic social teaching.