Religious communities and South African politics: the case of South African Council of Churches from 1994 - 2016

[摘要] Despite much research conducted on the case of the South African Council of Churches(SACC) since its inception in the 1960s, with particular focus on its role in South Africa aheadof its first democratic elections in 1994 and subsequently, the overall image painted bytheological and secular academic scholars of the SACC is negative. As a result, much doubthas been cast on the role of the SACC in South Africa, in particular the role of the SACC inSouth African politics since the advent of democracy in 1994. In this study, an attempt hasbeen made to investigate and demonstrate that contrary to popular opinion concerning its rolein South Africa, the SACC has remained an instrument and servant of South African churchesand has demonstrated true commitment to serving and uniting the people of South Africa,particularly in politics and matters of national concern. By adopting a resolution in 1994 oncritical solidarity with the democratically elected government of the Republic of South Africa,it is true that the SACC has changed its approach or scope of dealing with South Africanpolitics, but it has not abandoned its commitment to serving the people of South Africa nor isit silent in matters of public concern. Thus the South African Council of Churches (SACC) isstill relevant in South Africa. This study employs a multiplicity of methods which includescritical discourse analysis, heuristic method, hermeneutical tradition, hermeneuticphenomenology, literature and historical approach. This is a qualitative research since it willbe used to gain more understanding of the work of South African Council of Churches (SACC)and provide perception against the SACC' s problem of silence in South African politics since1994.

[发布机构] University of the Free State