Religion, politics, and identity in a changing south africa. Archived pdf from the original on 22 october 2014 this article addresses constitutional provisions relating to language, culture and religion in south african schools. The belief was introduced in the early 1916 under the guidance of engenas lekganyane, a once evangelical student of the anglican system. Bantuspeaking groups introduced further religious traditions to the region in ce. South africa is in the process of introducing a new curriculum for religion education with aims which are clearly educational rather than religious. The general household survey ghs, conducted in 20 by statistics south africa statssa, gave, for the first time since the census of 2001, a picture of the south african religious profile. List of books and articles about african religions online. In the postapartheid period, there is a record increase in the practice of air in south africa. Christianity is the dominant religion in south africa, with almost 80% of the population in 2001 professing to be christian. Professor of public law, university of cape town, south africa. South africa, the southernmost country on the african continent, renowned for its varied topography, great natural beauty, and cultural diversity, all of which have made the country a favored destination for travelers since the legal ending of apartheid afrikaans. During the formative years of dutch influence in the late seventeenth century, the religion of the reformed church was given special protection as the vehicle through which the afrikaner. South africa is called the rainbow nation because of its variety of people, cultures and religions.
It is often argued that the relationship between church and state, and the resultant freedom of religion, during 16521994 was determined by a theocratic model of the relationship between church and state. A minority of south african population does not belong to any of the major religions, but regard themselves as traditionalists or of no specific religious affiliation. This book examines the ambiguous role that christianity played in south africa s truth and reconciliation commission trc. But a third feature of the policyits engagement with the long, difficult, and. Today, south africa is home to a diversity of traditional african practices, with roughly 5% of the. The freedoms of religion and culture under the south african. In the surveys a multistage, stratified random sample is used and field workers employed by statssa conduct interviews at all the sampled units. South africas christian communities and compare them to the nonreligious. In particular, it impacts on gender relations and consequently on how women are treated in society and the home. Catholics, african independent church aic members and nonreligious people. They came from europe and brought their religion with them.
Constitution, charter and religions in south africa chapter. Religion education and the transformational state in south africa. Basic education rights handbook education rights in south. South africa is a secular state with a diverse religious population. The research field media, religion and culture media studies and religious studies as different fields of inquiry have a long history white, 2000. Many religions are represented in the ethnic and regional diversity of the population. Then and now 1652 2008 this article is about freedom of religion in south africa before and after 1994. The system is independent and indigenous taking a 23. Much more recent is the effort to bring together scholars in both fields, to bridge the wide cultural gap of. South africa is a country of many cultures and many religions indeed, a country of pluralities. Christianity, especially in its protestant forms, predominates. For sa freedom of religion south africa is a legal advocacy organisation working to protect and promote the constitutional right to religious freedom in south africa. Through modern changes, the traditional religion cannot remain intact but it is by no means extinct.
Some religions do not allow women to occupy decisionmaking positions, with the result that. Selected internet resources about south africa religion. God and humanity, sacrifices, afterlife and ancestors. African traditional religion south african history online. Religion education and the transformational state in south. It is essentially a postcolonial approach to what air and its essential characteristics is. Religion has an extremely powerful influence over peoples lives. The charter expresses what freedom of religion means to those of religious belief and religious. The total population of about 51 770 560 million is made up of 79,2 per cent black people. In these churches, many people became involved in efforts to reverse or to ameliorate the effects of apartheid policies, but with varying degrees of militancy. Throughout south africas three centuries of modern history, religion has played a major role in shaping the contours of all areas of south african life. Garner 2000 reports that christianity is the dominant religion in south africa and half of south africans attend worship once a week 46. In south africa, 80% of people identify as christian and only 5% identify as other religions squire, 2007.
Worship service at the afm word and life in boksburg south africa. The wide variety of religions in south africa is a reflection of the cultural diversity in south africa s rainbow society. By this means, it is hoped that the study1 will be more directly applicable to the churches in south and southern africa. The south african harter of religious rights and freedoms sarrf is a religiouslegal document that defines the freedoms, rights, responsibilities and relationship between the state of south africa and her citizens concerning religious belief. Submitted by francis acquah to the university of exeter as a thesis for the degree of doctor of philosophy in theology in december 2011. South africas new policy for religion in public education must be located at the intersection of humanrights principles and humanrights culture, between what has been called rights talk and culture talk mamdani 2000. Constitution, charter and religions in south africa. Since the birth of democracy in south africa, this religion has occupied an important position page of i i. It has left almost everyone thinking that religion in politics is.
Religion and politics in south africa ebrahim rasool leader of the anc, western cape the role of religion in politics is a topic that has gained enormous significance in light of the events of 11 september 2001. Pieter coertzen unit for the study of law and religion, university of stellenbosch, south africa. It was not imported into africa neither was it preached to africans rather each person in africa was born into it, lives it, practices, and is proud to make it his own awolalu and dopamu, 1979. Christianity was the first world religion on the continent and spread across north africa from the 1st century c. South africa history, capital, flag, map, population. Diamond way buddhist centers south africa the buddhist centers in south africa are part of over 600 diamond way buddhist centers of the karma kagyu lineage worlwide.
In the case of ghs 20, a total of 31 486 sampled households were visited across the country and 25 786 including multiple. Capital pretoria population 2010 50,000 annual population growth rate 20002010 1. They were established by lama ole and hannah nydahl according to the wishes of h. This article is concerned with traditional african religions, in particular. Islam supplanted christianity in the region in the 7th century. A minority of south africas population do not belong to any of the major religions, but regard themselves as traditionalists of no specific religious affiliation. It is believed that re focussed on the study of multiple religions in one classroom meets the needs of changing. The church and apartheid in south africa religion essay. The sacrrf is the first such charter developed in south.
In the 1990s, black south africans form a majority in all large christian churches in south africa, except the dutch reformed churches, and this was true throughout the apartheid era. Protestantism across several denominations is the largest belief set in south africa, with irreligious south africans being a significant proportion of the population. It is a religion that is practised by living men and women. The impact of african traditional religious beliefs and. A question regarding religion was included in the first census in south africa in 1911, and in all the subsequent censuses until 2001, but not in the 2011 census. Archived from the original pdf on 20 december 2014. World religions 2003 denomination africa 000 % world 000 % africa world.
African traditional religion and the religion of the san people come africa, but other religions such as judaism, christianity, islam, hinduism and buddhism, were brought to south africa by people from europe and asia. Religion in subsaharan africa most observers agree that africans are generally much more religious than the europeans, perhaps even than americans both in the sense of believing in an invisible world and of actually practicing religion. The people follow many spiritual traditions and religious faiths. South africa religion and apartheid country studies. The declared adherents of the indigenous religion are very conservative, resisting the.
The south african religious landscape is diverse and has a profound effect on the role that faith communities and its members may and should play within this context. Pdf religion, literature and identity in south africa. Celebration of the hindu festival of holi in south africa, a secular and multicultural country in africa. The rapid growth of many religions in africa and the revival of air in postcolonial africa have made interreligious dialogue an urgent necessity. Right to recognition and protection of religion in south africa. The story of the christian churches in south africa, like the story of south african society in general is the story of many tribes, whose histories are on the one hand interwoven and interconnected and helps us not make the same mistake as the church of segregation, it help us to strive to a bridge gap to any discord, instead of being a wall. Everyone is free to follow whatever faith they want to, or not to follow one at all. Other major religious groups are hindus, muslims and jews. However, it is noteworthy that many traditions are common to the southern bantu speaking peoples as well as peoples of central africa, testifying to their common origin centuries ago. However, it is noteworthy that many traditions are common to the southern bantu speaking peoples as well as peoples of central africa, testifying to their common origin centuries ago courlander 1996. In south africa the constitution protects freedom of religion. Christianity and the african traditional religions.
No single denomination predominates, with mainstream protestant churches, pentecostal churches, african initiated churches, and the catholic church all having significant numbers of adherents. It is necessary to discuss this topic as in many important respects, the decolonisation of south africa has not been completed cf saayman 1991. Religions in south africa, south africa religion overview. In south africa, with its cultural diverse society, desegregation and the changes in educational systems and educational institutions brought even bigger challenges for educators and curriculum developers du toit 1995. The representation of religion in religion education. As a result of the influence of christian missionaries and western colonialism, christianity became firmly entrenched in most of africa by the 1900s. This is taking place within the context of a constitution which safeguards human rights and forbids discrimination on religious grounds, thus ruling out any form of privileged religious. Religion and culture in public education in south africa basic education rights handbook education rights in south africa chapter 10. The constitution provides for freedom of religion and belief and prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion. Religion and conflict case study series south africa. Religion is often used to deny women their fundamental human rights. The zion faith is the religion of the black people in south africa. Nearly all south africans will tell you that they belong to a church and practice a faith, although their thinking when it comes to religion and religious beliefs differ widely.
Full text of the masters thesis in development studies, university of the western cape, south africa. The first aim of this article is to provide a brief overview of the. The earliest known religion in south africa was the traditional beliefs and practices of the khoisan people, who resided in the region for centuries. The national policy on religion and education emphasised the value of recognising the diversity of belief systems in south africa, particularly in the school system. Religion and culture in public education in south africa 185. We do this by engaging with government on policies, and making submissions to parliament on draft legislation, that may negatively impact on religious freedom. A case study of nkusukumekumfienyan area of the central region. After years of consultation the national policy on religion and education in south africa came into effect in september 2003. The impact of african traditional religious beliefs and cultural values on christian muslim relations in ghana from 1920 through the present.
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