RICSA > conferences > parliament of world
religions workshops > programmeReligion, Liberation and Transformation through the South African ExperienceThe nine seminars listed here will be presented at the Parliament of the World's Religions in Cape Town in December, 1999. Sessions are of two and a half hours duration, and will consist of presentations of approximately 15 minutes each. A publication containing the presentations is expected to be published after the Parliament. What follows is a draft programme. When a final version is available, it will be put on this site, along with presenters. 1. Apartheid
oppression was rooted in the guiding institutions 1. Apartheid oppression was rooted in the guiding institutionsThursday 2 December, 10.00--12.30 pm. The Parliament of the World's Religions has identified eight "guiding institutions which influence the character and course of human society". These are religion, government, commerce, industry and labour, education, science and medicine, arts and communiciations media, international intergovernmental institutions, and organisations of civil society. Apartheid oppression was produced through these guiding institutions. Oppression was inflicted by good people who sincerely believed the colonial tradition that white western supremacy was the instrument of world salvation. Beneath this doctrine was the determination to retain economic power (wealth) in their hands. These attitudes still rule many guiding institutions today. 2. Religious resistance to oppressionThursday 2 December, 2.00--5.00 pm. Apartheid oppression was crushed by a long process in which liberated political and religious forces co-operated. Beneath this was a driving force towards theological renewal and economic justice. 3. Some contentious issues for religion and transformation Friday 3 December, 10.00--12.30 pm. The South African struggle raised contentious issues which still confront religious activists concerned to transform the world. 4. From resistance to reconstruction: Analysing the South African "miracle" Friday 3 December, 2.00--5.00 pm. The transition in South Africa has been seen internationally as a social and political miracle. Yet deep-seated problems, many with global parallels, remain. 5. Tolerance and democracy: human rights across the chasms Saturday 4 December, 10.00--12.30 pm. A nation historically divided along racial, cultural, economic and gender lines presents powerful challenges to religious visions of reconciliation and political practices of toleration. 6. Faith and politics working together in the emergence of the New South Africa Saturday 4 December, 2.00--5.00 pm. Political and religious forces combined in the struggle to end apartheid oppression. How could they both contribute to building a transformed society? 7. The Two-Thirds World has Aids: Deconstructing the politics of health and medicine Sunday 5 December, 10.00--12.00 pm. HIV/Aids is wreacking havoc across Africa and much of the developing world. It confronts health care workers and religious people alike with complex cultural, sexual and moral questions, intensified by globalising political and economic forces. Sunday 5 December, 2.00--5.00 pm. The triumph of the market economy has been hailed by some and criticised by others. Can it really solve our problems and enhance our life-worlds? This is an issue religions cannot afford to ignore. 9. Inter-faith participation in the transformation of society Tuesday 7 December, 10.00--12.30 pm. Despite the attitudes of ingrained conservatism of many religious and political practitioners, an inter-faith and inter-disciplinary co-operation is emerging in the quest to transform society. |
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