Research into Faith and Reconciliation in South Africa

 

This page is jointly sponsored by EFSA and RICSA, who are not necessarily to be identified with the interests of all who contribute. It contains a summary of some of the research being done in the area of faith and reconciliation in South Africa. It is based in a consortium launched at the initiative of the Ecumenical Foundation of South Africa (EFSA) in Pretoria on 20 August 1998. One of the goals was to allow for the enriching of research by interaction. Another was the prevention of needless duplication and repetition. Charles Villa-Vicencio, the director of research for the TRC, gave the keynote address.

The meeting also identified nine broad areas of common interest shared amongst the participants, which also related to areas identified by Villa-Vicencio in his address.

• Justice
• Identity/Culture/Nation Building/African Renaissance
• Practical Initiatives
• Regionalizing of the Truth
• Interfaith/Diversity
• Education
• Worship
• Human Rights/Values/Ethics
• Church/State

What follows is only a beginning. Others are welcome to add their projects to it. This page will be updated to provide a topically organised (based on the above nine areas) database of research.

1. Research Institute for Theology and Religion (C. W. du Toit)

• Research is being done in the areas of
• Empowering the poor
• Hearing the voice of African initiated churches within "mainstream" church communities
• A Seminar on Faith and Earth Keeping
• The changing value systems of youth
• Follow-up on the Confession made in the open letter of Nico Smith.
• Recording the voices of women who experienced forced removals (led by Christina Landman)
• Corruption
• Crime, in conjunction with the CSIR

 

2. Research Institute on Christianity in South Africa (S. Martin)

• Worked on document providing a synopsis and introduction to the ‘Faith-Hearings’ of the TRC.
• Has done work on the relation between faith communities and Apartheid.
• Working on a book on the Faith Communities hearings.
• Planning a ‘Multi-event’ for February 1999 in Cape Town.
• Producing a multi-volume work on Christianity and the Social History of South Africa.
• Publishing the New South African Outlook—a newsmagazine for Christian intellegentsia.
• Involved in consultancy work on the poverty issue. A web page with links and resources soon to be set up.
• Another project involves the Africanisation of Christianity, engaging issues of identity (Christian and African), symbol, culture and liturgy in the African context.

3. Ecumenical Foundation of Southern Africa (R. Koegelenberg and G. Barkhuizen)

• Researching "the developmental discourse of civil society", which includes a project on democratization with the ‘Life and Peace Institute’ in Norway (publication to follow).
• Busy with a national religious foundation for social development working with housing and other areas.
• Working on a publication in which young South African theologians are encouraged to tell their stories.
• Has a substantial cooperation contract with the Western Cape Government on Religion and Education, Crime, Violence and Values, and Community security.

4. Centre for Occupational Ethics, TUKS (E. de Villiers, Prop. M. Painter-Morland)

• Helping to develop a moral vision for leadership in different professions
• Working on the development of one code of ethics for all professions
• Running a project with the South African Managers (Prof. W. P. Esterhuyse et.al.)
• Planning to contribute to the Conference on Fraud in Uganda in 1999.
• Providing an information service regarding value creation and the professional life.

5. South African Council of Churches (C. Majiza)

• Capacity building programmes in nationwide Trauma centres
• Jubilee 2000 project.
• Womanist issues strong on the agenda.
• Healing of the Memory Workshops of Father M. Lapsley
• Working on a Resource Review in order to address the issue of poverty and post-apartheid debt
• Producing various books, for example, on Church, land and poverty

6. Institute of Contextual Theology (W. Mabuza and M. Speckman)

• The Religion and Poverty Report
• A Book on: Poverty from a biblical perspective
• Kairos ’95
• There are joint projects with the Department of Reconciliation and Healing of the SACC
• Lifeskills training for woman and children
• African Renaissance as an important research topic
• "Religious Consultation Report" on Gender Equality

7. Nova, Institute for Missions and Ecumenical Research, TUKS (Dr. A. Van Niekerk)

• Project with the University of Boston on inter-ethnic co-existence
• Research for the upliftment and prevention of poverty

8. IMER/ISWEN (D. Kritzinger)

• Research on the submissions during the TRC Faith Hearings and monitoring to what extent the churches are ‘true to their word and promises’
• The website contains a data system. (Address will provided at a later stage)

8. South African Catholic Bishops Conference (B. Tlhagale)

9. The Evangelical Alliance of Southern Africa (A. Mokabane representing M. Nthla)

• Involved with the "March for Jesus"
• Working on proposals for the Reparation Fund
• Running an "Adopt a Victim" programme.

10. Missionalia (K. Kritzinger)

• Have published articles on the TRC
• Have identified areas for further research, including theological education and the identity of the White community (how can there be white Africans?).

11. University of Western Cape, Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies (H. R. Botman

• The Centre for Human Rights and Religion is working (together with the Mayubuye project) on an archive of material on the Apartheid years.
• The book "To Remember and to Heal", edited by a team of academics from UWC, has been published.
• Involved in a value-studies project with EFSA where the topic "Values and Social Transformation" is researched with an inter-disciplinary team.
• Dr Botman’s own research focuses on the issue "Reconceiving the Perpetrator"
• Prof D. Ackermann is working on issues of identity.