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Ecumenical Bodies
Apart from individual responses from churches, there were also responses from the ecumenical front. For instance, the first ecumenical conference soon after the official introduction of apartheid was the Rosettenville Consultation that met in 1948.
Rosettenville represented an official attack by the English speaking churches on the apartheid policy. (De Gruchy 1986: 56). The second ecumenical body of note that convened during this period (1940s-1960) was the Cottesloe consultation. This body met in Cottesloe, Johannesburg from 7 to 14 December 1960 (Ngcokovane 1989:157). It was a meeting of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and her South African member churches to address, “the worsening racial situation in the country” (Randall 1982:18). The DRC delegates participated actively during the consultation and even accepted and signed the consultation statement against apartheid. This behavior angered Prime Minister Verwoerd and the conservatives in the DRC. As a result of pressure from the Prime
Minister and the DRC, the DRC delegation except Beyers Naudé recanted their stance and signatures against apartheid (Ryan 2005:64ff).
The third ecumenical move to address apartheid was through the formation of the Christian Institute (CI) of Southern Africa (Randall 1982:28). This body was formed by members from various races and denominations who met in the Central Methodist Hall in Johannesburg. The meeting took place on 13 August 1963 with an aim to; “meet together to try to work out the implications of the Kingdom of God for the people of the country” (Randall 1982:28; cf 2.4.2; see Heaney 2004:82). This purpose is further outlined by Kistner (1995:41) thus: “To draw attention to the injustice and disruption caused by the apartheid system in South African society and in the churches. It was founded to strengthen the resistance of Christians against that system.”
Main minority religions
There are many minority religions in South Africa but Islam, African Traditional Religions (ATR) and Hinduism stand supreme in terms of their numbers compared to other minorities. Kruger (1996:30) is correct in including some of these religions when he refers to “Africa’s triple heritage.” This heritage comprised Christianity, African Religion (meaning ATR) and Islam but he unfortunately excluded Hinduism. In my analysis of responses by Faith Based Organizations against apartheid, attention will be on Islam and ATR due to their bigger number of adherents in South Africa, compared to other minority religions. Muslims played an active role against apartheid through their organized religious structures. For instance, the Muslim Judicial Council (founded in 1945), was not only meant to promote Muslim unity, but also to “form a united front against oppressive laws of the day” (Kruger 1996:228). The Muslim Youth Movement of South Africa also made a mark against apartheid. Although this body initially encouraged selfand- group study of the Quran, “eventually, this group also became active in the political arena in the struggle against apartheid” (ibid).
As far as African Traditional Religion was concerned, during this period (1940s-1960), it was difficult to see any contributions they were making in the fight against social injustice. It was not easy for adherents of this religion to come out proudly like members of other faiths because of the stigma that was attached to them and their religion by missionary Christianity and the ‘Christian’ aligned apartheid state. The foundation of the stigma was laid during the early encounters between Western missionaries and indigenous communities in Africa. For instance, the latter’s religion was referred to as “heathen cultures,” “religion of the lower races” or “uncivilized” people and statements such as “the heathen in his blindness bows down to wood and stone” were common on the lips of missionaries (Setiloane 1976:104). They were deemed “archaic, barbaric and backwards” (Masuku 1998:21).
Another point of note is from Kruger (1996:34) who contended that African Religion forms an integral part of social life. The fact that religion and other social activities merge, makes the visibility of this religion low. This low visibility is due to the fact that most of the rites are performed in private. He continues to point out that even where the religious element is present in public, it is difficult for outsiders to identify it as such.
Adherents of ATRs have an open mind to other religions due to the absence of an intellectual statement of religious belief in dogmas (ibid: 36). This leaves adherents open to syncretism. It leaves the possibility that they, like in the case of the Hindus, might not have fought apartheid through their religious structures, but through organized social actions.
Negative character
Beyers Naudé had weaknesses like any human being. The weakness of Beyers Naudé could be judged by the position from which one looks at him. For instance, victims of oppression looked at him as a hero while beneficiaries of oppression saw him as a traitor. There is also a group that is formed by the beneficiaries of oppression who ‘converted’ and became disciples of Beyers Naudé. The majority of them joined and supported the Christian Institute (CI). Bartlett (2009) in trying to interpret the reaction of those who benefited from oppression to the ministry of Beyers Naudé states: “Mixed kind of reactions. Many people rejected him. There were people who did not understand him and who didn’t even agree with him. Some reacted with hostility. Very few people were ready to fully support him. He was a stronger leader outside the (DRC) ministry than he was inside.”
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1. PURPOSE, RELEVANCE AND METHOD
1.1. THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
1.2. RELEVANCE
1.3. RESEARCH METHODS AND SOURCES
CHAPTER 2: BEYERS NAUDÉ FROM HIS BIRTH TO HIS ‘CONVERSION’, SOUTH AFRICA, FAITH BASED ORGANISATIONS AND APARTHEID
2.1. INTRODUCTION
2.2. EARLY LIFE
2.3. MINISTRY IN THE DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH (DRC) 1940-1963
2.4. THE ‘CONVERSION’ OF BEYERS NAUDÉ
2.5. THE MISSION FIELD: POLITICAL CLIMATE IN SOUTH AFRICA DURING THE MINISTRY OF BEYERS NAUDÉ IN THE DRC (1940-1963) AND TO THE VICTIMS OF OPPRESSION (1963-1994
2.6. FAITH BASED ORGANISATIONS’ RESPONSE TO APARTHEID
2.7. CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 3: THE NATURE AND IMPACT OF THE MINISTRY OF BEYERS NAUDÉ TO THE VICTIMS OF APARTHEID, 1963 TO 1994
3.1. INTRODUCTION
3.2. MISSION STRATEGY OF BEYERS NAUDÉ
3.3. OUTCOMES OF THE MINISTRY OF BEYERS NAUDÉ TO THE VICTIMS OF OPPRESSION
3.4. CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 4: TOWARDS A COMPREHENSIVE MISSION STRATEGY TO THE VICTIMS OF OPPRESSION
4.1. INTRODUCTION
4.2. DEVELOPING A COMPREHENSIVE MISSION STRATEGY
4.3. CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION
5.1. CONCLUSIVE OVERVIEW
5.2. LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE MINISTRY OF BEYERS NAUDÉ
5.3. FINAL CONCLUSION
5.4. WAY-FORWARD
5.4.1. Areas for further study
6. LIST OF REFERENCES CITED
7. APPENDICES
