scholarly journals Religion in the public sphere and the well-being of the poor: A practical theological perspective

2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hennie J.C. Pieterse
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Basic Question ◽  
Church Members ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Practical Theological

This article forms part of my research participation at the University of South Africa in the project Religion, health and well-being in Southern Africa: Practical theological perspectives. All the themes we are addressing in this project are public issues. Therefore the basic question in this project pertains to where and how religion, in this case Christian religion, is involved in public discourses and actions regarding problems in public life in South Africa. The specific research question in this article is: what effects do congregational projects by church members, directed to the poor, have on their experience of well-being? Congregational projects by church members directed to the poor are public actions by people with religious motivation addressing a public problem in South Africa. Therefore, these projects and their effects on the experience of well-being by the poor are religious actions in the public sphere. Firstly, I have conceptualised religion as well as the well-being of the poor in South Africa. The relationship between religion and well-being amongst the poor is then addressed. The conceptualisation has directed the formulation of half-structured interview questions in a qualitative empirical research in a sample from a population of pastors and their congregations who are practicing congregational projects directed at the poor in their vicinities. From the analysis of the contents of the interview, data categories have been formulated, which could then be phrased into a conceptual framework of the effects of these projects on the well-being of the poor. This research is an exercise in public practical theological research.

(Un)Liberated and Contested Narratives

2019 ◽  
pp. 334-347
Author(s):  
Bongani C Ndhlovu
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
South African ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Nation Building ◽  
The State ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
The Many ◽  
Contested Narratives

This chapter analyses the influence of the state in shaping museum narratives, especially in a liberated society such as South Africa. It argues that while the notion of social cohesion and nation building is an ideal that many South African museums should strive for, the technocratisation of museum processes has to a degree led to a disregard of the public sphere as a space of open engagement. Secondly, the chapter also looks at the net-effect of museums professionals and boards in the development of their narrative. It argues that due to the nature of their expertise and interests, and the focus on their areas of specialisation, museums may hardly claim to be representative of the many voices they ought to represent. As such, the chapter explores contestations in museum spaces. It partly does so by exploring the notion “free-spokenness” and its limits in museum spaces. To amplify its argument, the chapter uses some exhibitions that generated critical engagements from Iziko Museums of South Africa.

Modern Roman Catholic Mission and the Legacy of Uganda’s Emmanuel Cardinal Nsubuga

2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-168
Author(s):  
J. J. Carney
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
East Africa ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Authoritarian Regimes ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Catholic Mission ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Public Sphere

Arguably the most important Roman Catholic leader in postcolonial Uganda, Emmanuel Cardinal Nsubuga is largely unknown outside the country. As archbishop of Kampala between 1966 and 1990, Nsubuga hosted the first papal visit to sub-Saharan Africa in 1969 and started the Uganda Martyrs’ Shrine, now the largest pilgrimage destination in East Africa. Living under the authoritarian regimes of Milton Obote and Idi Amin, Nsubuga embodied three key emphases in modern Catholic mission in the public sphere: the option for the poor, ecumenism, and resistance to political dictatorship.

Unsettling the ‘New’? Apartheid Did Not Die (Lowery, 1998)

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-46
Author(s):  
Litheko Modisane
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Documentary Film ◽  
Historical Change ◽  
Critical Perspective ◽  
The Public ◽  
Modes Of Representation ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Temporal Rhythm

The documentary film Apartheid Did Not Die (Lowery, 1998) raises a theoretical problematic concerning the nature of historical change. In this article, an attempt is made to understand how the film represents the ‘post’ in the post-apartheid era, particularly with regard to its premises about historical change in societies that have recently emerged from an oppressive past, and the responses that the film occasioned. I show that through narrative and documentary strategies, Apartheid Did Not Die institutes a singular temporal rhythm for South Africa and is as such a metanarrative. Yet, it is as a metanarrative that the film occasioned a wide array of public engagements. Though powerful and provocative, the film’s arguments point to the limits of generalizing analyses and polemical modes of representation. However, its generalizing tone also shows the productivity of polemic as occasioned by the public responses it brought into being. Considering the theoretically problematic elements of the documentary form offers a critical perspective on the responses the film elicited in the public sphere.

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