Christian Praxis and Gender Justice

The role of theology in the empowerment of women victims of gender-based violence

Abstract

One difficulty in comprehensively addressing gender justice in development projects is the exclusion of the religious factor in these projects. This is probably justified by the negative influence of some conservative Christian movements with decontextualized theologies. However, disassociating religion from development programs implies losing the possibility of addressing gender justice comprehensively and, in addition, may discourage people’s commitment to this issue. This article presents the results of a case study on gender justice conducted in the city of San José, Costa Rica. The study revealed that it is possible to have a responsible and contextual Christian praxis committed to gender justice in contexts of violence against women. Achieving this goal requires that projects have theologically trained people who can effectively mediate between development perspectives, gender justice and Christian faith.