The Role of Religion in the Formation of Trust-Based Relationships Amongst South African Entrepreneurs

The practice of ritual sacrifice within the South African context is explored in the light of the emerging global discussion regarding religion and development. Firstly, some aspects of the theory of René Girard on sacrifice is discussed, as well as African theories pertaining to sacrifice and modern ways in which sacrifice/offering enters language. The following section presents three case studies pertaining to sacrifice from South Africa: one from fiction, one from fieldwork done in an African Independent church and a description of a recent sacrifice conducted on a beach in Cape Town. In a succeeding section, the data presented in the empirical part is interpreted in the light of the preceding theories. In the concluding section a thesis is advanced regarding the possible meaning and significance of sacrifice for an African understanding of development.

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Pastors or Lawyers? The Role of Religion in the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission Process

HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies ◽

10.4102/hts.v58i1.543 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 58 (1) ◽

Author(s):

P.G.J. Meiring

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

Committee Member ◽

Truth And Reconciliation Commission ◽

The South ◽

Reconciliation Commission ◽

Truth And Reconciliation ◽

Role Of Religion ◽

Religion In The South

In this article, Piet Meiring who served as Committee Member on the TRC discusses the often disputed religious character of the Commission. Quoting examples from the TRC process he describes the debate that developed – on Archbishop Tutu’s religious way of handling the affairs of the Commission. Meiring discusses the TRC liturgy that was developed during the course of the process, as well as how important the role of religion proved to be in terms of three crucial issues: the process of remembering, the quest for truth, and the costliness of reconciliation.

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Theology amidst Wickedness: Is African Theology Equipped to Address Intractable Societal Issues?

Philosophia Reformata ◽

10.1163/23528230-8502a007 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 85 (2) ◽

pp. 212-225

Author(s):

Teddy Chalwe Sakupapa

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

Wicked Problems ◽

Analytical Framework ◽

Theoretical Concept ◽

African Theology ◽

Societal Issues ◽

Public Role ◽

African Context ◽

Role Of Religion

Abstract In light of scholarly debates on the wicked problems framework, this contribution offers an appraisal of the role of theology in an African context characterized by myriad wicked problems. I argue that within the (South) African context, the decolonization of theology is indispensable for doing theology that is self-consciously contextual and therefore responsive to societal issues. This is crucial not least because of the widely recognized public role of religion in Africa. Drawing on the analytical framework of decoloniality and the theoretical concept of wicked problems, I will argue that although the category of wicked problems emerged within the framework of the intellectual world of the Northern Hemisphere, its analytical capacity is no less significant for contemporary African theological discourse on decoloniality.

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Naming the Moment

Religion and Theology ◽

10.1163/15743012-02303009 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 23 (3-4) ◽

pp. 237-273

Author(s):

Gerhard van den Heever

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

New South ◽

University Education ◽

African History ◽

Economic Decline ◽

Student Protest ◽

Cultural Alienation ◽

The Moment ◽

Role Of Religion

This essay introduces and frames a collection of essays speaking into a particularly burning and troubling period in South African history. The slow economic decline over a period of roughly ten years have now accelerated into a two year-long running student protest over high costs of university education. The protesters themselves, and commentary on the protest movement, link the protests to the failure of the promises of the 1994 compromise that saw the inauguration of the new South Africa. At the same time, the protests also pick up on another exclusion, i.e., the vestiges of colonial knowledge regimes and cultural alienation. In the essays here, issues are address that speak into this situation from various perspectives, namely, the agency of African in defining their own history, the authority and sovereignty to interpret the context, and the role of religion in education to construct social identity.

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A conversation with a stranger: Debunking religiosity and poverty in South Africa

HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies ◽

10.4102/hts.v77i4.7053 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 77 (4) ◽

Author(s):

Buhle Mpofu

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

South African ◽

Local Development ◽

Homeless People ◽

Daily Lives ◽

African Context ◽

Perceptions Of God ◽

Dominant Narratives ◽

Role Of Religion

My previous research explored narratives and discourses from marginalised migrants in their quest for survival. This contribution approached the South African context through the lens of the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 1 ‘Ending poverty in all its forms’ and employed John Hick’s notion of ‘soul-making’ to analyse themes that emerged from a summary of a conversation with a stranger. Faith in God, forgiveness and vulnerability are thematically discussed within the context of the struggle for survival through a conversation held with a homeless man in Sinoville, Pretoria, on 03 August 2021. Inspired by this conversation, the article highlights religious expressions of the homeless, their vulnerability and their perceptions of God to contend that some of the homeless prayerfully deploy religiosity and seek God’s guidance to practise Christian values in their daily lives to survive on the margins of society. The contribution challenges dominant narratives on poverty in the context of homelessness and religiosity. The contribution concludes that current developmental discourses need to be decolonised to promote new models for ‘development from below’ which appreciate the role of religion and promote participation of the marginalised in local development initiatives.Contribution: This research contributed to the UN SDG 1 on ending poverty in all its forms by interrogating the vulnerability and religious narratives of homeless people in South Africa through the story of an encounter with a homeless stranger.

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