[1][2] She was born in Rosario, province of Santa Fe, Argentina, and graduated with a Bachelor in Theology Degree from ISEDET [es], the Protestant University Institute in Buenos Aires.

She followed the methods of Paulo Freire, undertaking community and social projects supported by the church in impoverished neighborhoods of Buenos Aires.

Due to her experience and accomplishments in this regard, Althaus-Reid was invited to Scotland, where she worked in poor neighborhoods of Dundee and Perth, coordinating projects inspired by the liberationist pedagogy of Freire.

[2] In the last years of her life, she worked with the Argentine theologian Ivan Petrella to publicize liberation theology in the English-speaking world.

She wants to argue for a larger Christology which recasts Jesus in postmodern sexualities, genders, and economic locations.