📘 Lexicon Entry: Ideological Criticism

Interpretive approach examining biblical texts primarily through external political frameworks, often subordinating theological content to ideological analysis

Interpretive approach that examines biblical texts primarily through external political, social, or cultural frameworks, often subordinating theological content to ideological analysis and making political liberation the hermeneutical key. While legitimate concern for justice emerges from biblical theology itself, ideological criticism becomes problematic when external frameworks become the primary criterion for interpretation, reducing Scripture to projection of social interests rather than allowing theological content to provide its own resources for social critique.

Theological Mutation

liberation theology, hermeneutics of suspicion, political interpretation, social justice, critical theory, biblical authority

Geevarghese-Uffman, Craig. “Ideological Criticism.” *Political Theology Lexicon*. https://www.commonlifepolitics.com/p/lexicon. Accessed [date].

Social location affects interpretation, but external frameworks must be critiqued by Scripture’s own witness rather than becoming primary hermeneutical criterion

External ideological frameworks become primary interpretive lens, reducing Scripture to document serving political transformation rather than divine revelation

Analysis through external frameworks like Marxism, feminism, postcolonialism; focus on power structures; emphasis on reader’s social location as determining factor

Developed through Latin American liberation theology (1960s-70s), expanded through feminist biblical criticism, influenced by postcolonial criticism and critical race theory

Subordinates theological content to ideological agenda, treats Scripture’s authority as derivative from political usefulness

Reduces theological claims to political projections, reads Scripture primarily as document of oppression or liberation

Prominent in liberation theology and progressive theological education, influences social justice movements within churches

Right-wing forms can subordinate Scripture to nationalist ideology, reading biblical texts through framework of cultural war

Uses providential language to justify ideological commitments while subordinating theological content to political agenda

Creates tension between scholarly interpretation and faith community needs, contributes to politicization of biblical interpretation

Studied through liberation theology analysis, postcolonial criticism, and examination of hermeneutical methodologies

Gustavo Gutiérrez, Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, Fernando Segovia, R. S. Sugirtharajah

Related Primary Concepts: Tribal Epistemology, Practical Atheism

Key Mutations: Primitive Biblicism, Binary Apocalypticism

Theological Alternatives: Analogical Reading, Participatory Hermeneutics

Contemporary Movements: Identity Synthesis

May 26, 2025

*This entry is part of the Political Theology Lexicon, accessible exclusively to subscribers. View the complete lexicon to explore related concepts and the full theoretical framework.*