Kwok ’n’ Roll

#LiberationTheology #LatinAmericanTheology #PostcolonialTheology #DecolonialFaith #Theology #Christianity #SocialJustice #ChristianThought Is liberation theology still a radical force — or has it been domesticated? Nicolás Panotto, theologian, human rights activist, and director of the civil society organization Otros Cruces, argues that the real gift of liberation theology isn't a set of doctrines but a methodology — and that the second generation has taken that methodology into new territory: queer theology, intersectionality, decolonial epistemology, and the spirituality of social movements.

In this conversation, Kwok Pui Lan and Panotto explore:

• The transition from the first to the second generation of Latin American liberation theology

• Decolonial vs. postcolonial theory — and why the difference matters for theology

• The groundbreaking (and underread) legacy of Marcella Althaus-Reid

• How civil rights organizing shaped Panotto's theological method

• What theologians must do in a time of rising authoritarianism and dehumanization

Dr. Nicolás Panotto is a professor at the University of Oldenburg (Germany) and director of Otros Crucos, a Latin American organization working at the intersection of theology, human rights, and social movements. He is based in Chile.

Dr. Panotto is the coeditor of Decolonizing Liberation Theologies.

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What happens when the people who preach peace practice violence? From the Washington Hilton assassination attempt to the hidden abuses of celebrated religious leaders, Kwok Pui Lan and Mary Hunt ask the hard questions faith communities don't want to face.

In this episode of Faithful Provocations, Kwok Pui Lan and Mary Hunt begin with the moral shock of gun violence at the White House Correspondents' Dinner — 2,600 people crouching under tables at the Washington Hilton — and ask what faith demands in response.

Was Jesus truly nonviolent? What can the Catonsville Nine, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr. teach us now? And what do we do when celebrated religious leaders and activist — John Howard Yoder, Jean Vanier, César Chávez — are credibly accused of abusing women? Mary Hunt names it directly: the "veneer of virtue." If violence is a feminist issue, churches and religious communities must reckon with what she calls "spiritual domestic violence" — harm done in our own spiritual homes. 

New episode next Friday.

What does it mean to be the first non-White General Secretary of the world YWCA? How does an African woman break the glass ceiling — not just once, but repeatedly — to lead global organizations and reshape the landscape of Christian theology?

Dr. Musimbi Kanyoro from Kenya is one of those rare leaders. She served as the founding coordinator of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians, championing African women's voices in theology and driving their work into publication and global recognition.

In this conversation, Dr. Kanyoro unpacks what makes African women's theology distinctive: it is contextual, rooted in lived experience, and always addressing the urgent needs of the moment — from women's leadership and HIV/AIDS to the COVID pandemic and now the vital relationship between religion and the environment.

She also shares her work in women and philanthropy, channeling resources through foundations that fund innovative solutions to female education, the lack of opportunities, and gender-based violence. Her vision is clear: the older generation of women must hold the ladder steady so the younger generation can climb to new heights — breaking gender inequity and transforming their communities.

Is peace a feminist issue? In the first episode of Faithful Provocations, theologians Kwok Pui Lan and Mary E. Hunt challenge the assumption that men — popes or presidents — speak for all of us on war and peace. As Pope Leo XIV and Donald Trump clash over the Iran war, and the first female Archbishop of Canterbury prepares to visit the Vatican, two feminist theologians ask the questions the headlines aren't asking: What does women's leadership mean for a theology of nonviolence? Should women be drafted? And can the church credibly champion peace when it can't agree on gender equality inside its own walls? In this episode:

• Why feminist theology reframes war as a question of faith — not just politics

• Women-led Catholic peace movements: Sisters of Mercy, Pax Christi, and the Leadership Conference of Women Religious

• The automatic draft registration coming in December — and whether women will be included

• Women in the military vs. women's ordination: two kinds of equality, two very different outcomes

• Can Roman Catholic and Anglican leaders agree on peace when they disagree on gender?

Faithful Provocations is a weekly Friday series hosted by Kwok Pui Lan (Episcopal postcolonial theologian) and Mary E. Hunt (Catholic feminist theologian), exploring urgent questions at the intersection of faith, gender, and justice.

🔔 New episodes every Friday. Subscribe so you don't miss the next provocation.

Is peace a feminist issue? In the first episode of Faithful Provocations, theologians Kwok Pui Lan and Mary Hunt challenge the assumption that men — popes or presidents — speak for all of us on war and peace.

As Pope Leo XIV and Donald Trump clash over the Iran war, and the first female Archbishop of Canterbury prepares to visit the Vatican, two feminist theologians ask the questions the headlines aren't asking: What does women's leadership mean for a theology of nonviolence? Should women be drafted? And can the church credibly champion peace when it can't agree on gender equality inside its own walls?

In this episode:

Why feminist theology reframes war as a question of faith — not just politics

Women-led Catholic peace movements: Sisters of Mercy, Pax Christi, and the Leadership Conference of Women Religious

The automatic draft registration coming in December — and whether women will be included

Women in the military vs. women's ordination: two kinds of equality, two very different outcomes

Can Roman Catholic and Anglican leaders agree on peace when they disagree on gender?

Faithful Provocations is a weekly Friday series hosted by Kwok Pui Lan (Episcopal postcolonial theologian) and Mary Hunt (Catholic feminist theologian), exploring urgent questions at the intersection of faith, gender, and justice.

🔔 New episodes every Friday. Subscribe so you don't miss the next provocation.