This presentation examines the rise of the Third World Movement and its impact on the ecumenical agenda, beginning in the 1950s and culminating in the late 1960s. It particularly focuses on the 1966 World Conference on Church and Society and the early development of liberation theology. This movement not only challenged the dominance of Eurocentric perspectives within the ecumenical movement but also gave rise to what some Latin Americans have referred to as an ecumenism oriented towards the world.
On Thursday, 19 February 2026 at 1400 UTC, Raimundo C. Barreto Jr., Associate Professor of World Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary and co-editor of the Journal of World Christianity, will speak on how the changing landscape of world Christianity and the rise of a world-oriented ecumenism have reshaped the face of Christianity in the twenty-first century.
Barreto’s academic work focuses on the intersections of faith, culture, and social justice, examining how religion is influenced by and shapes social, political, and economic forces. He aims to promote inclusivity, diversity, and interfaith understanding, ensuring that issues of difference and justice are taken seriously. Through his scholarship and teaching, he strives to create environments where various forms of knowledge, traditions, and experiences are acknowledged and valued, while also amplifying the voices of marginalized groups. Dr. Barreto is the author of Protesting Poverty: Protestants, Social Ethics, and the Poor in Brazil (Baylor University Press, 2023) and Base Ecumenism: A Latin American Contribution to Ecumenical Praxis and Theology (Augsburg Fortress, 2025). He is working on a book titled Christians in the City of São Paulo: The Shaping of World Christianity in a Brazilian Megacity (Bloomsbury). Currently he is a member of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee on behalf of the American Baptist Convention and vice president of the North American Academy of Ecumenists (NAAE).
