RICSA Research into South Africa’s Faith Communities and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission

In 1997, RICSA was approached by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to advise on the setting up of hearings focussing on faith communities and their role during the years 1960 to 1994—the period of investigation for the commission. Having been supplied with a set of submissions from faith communities, Profs John de Gruchy and James Cochrane produced a document which provided historical background, gave a summary of the submissions and made recommendations for the hearings. RICSA was subsequently asked to prepare a report on the faith hearings which would be used to draft the appropriate section of the Commission’s final report.

De Gruchy, Cochrane and Stephen Martin (who drafted RICSA’s report) have also edited a volume entitled Facing the Truth: South African Faith Communities and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Cape Town: David Philip Publishers, 1999), which includes the full RICSA report, along with interpretative and critical essays. The report itself, containing links to much of the primary and secondary material used in its drafting, is also available here.

RICSA Articles and Publications

• TRC Faith Communities Report (html)
• TRC Faith Communities Report (Rich Text)
• Report on the process of writing the Faith Communities Report by Stephen Martin
• Faith Communities Face the Truth (book prospectus and review by Denise Ackermann)

Other Resources

• Faith Community Submissions
• War, Remembrance and Reconstruction, by Gerald West and James Cochrane
• The TRC and Intellectuals, by Gerald West
• A Resume of Research into Reconciliation in South Africa

Links

• TRC home page
• TRC Report: Section on Faith Communities