Liturgy in a Decolonial Key

Abstract

This chapter explores the work of decolonial scholar Arturo Escobar in his volume Sentipensar con la tierra for its potential to enrich liberating liturgical approaches. Three characteristics of liberating liturgy are specifically explored: how it lifts up the concrete everyday experience of the people, how it is community based, and how it is transformative. These characteristics are shown to intersect with a decolonial theological approach and can be understood along the lines of sentipensar, as a tangible example of living, doing, and feeling actualized through the religious experiences and expressions of the people. The chapter concludes with the examination of the hymn, "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" as a brief case study.