“Liberation theology” was popularized in Latin America in the 1970s in response to the oppression, poverty and injustice endemic to that region.  Leaving the metaphysical theories of the Catholic scholastic traditions behind, they forged new theories based on the social sciences and Marxist perspectives.   They intended to raise awareness of the social dimension of Original Sin.

In addition to personal sin (the product of individual concupiscence) and Original Sin (the universal consequences of the Fall), liberation theologians included Social Sin (the consequence of individual sinful acts and embodied in social structures).  But then, what would be the difference between Original Sin and Social Sin?

The idea of Social Sin may be grounded in both St. Paul’s letters and John’s Gospel.  But, the Catholic College of Cardinals ended up rejecting the idea that the biblical “sin of the world” equaled the doctrine of Original Sin.