Pauw, J.C.
The work presented here originated as part of a research project on ‘Faith and Ethnicity’ that was carried out by the International Reformed Theological Institute (IRTI) at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. It was proposed that a study on apartheid would form an important aspect of the research project, since apartheid theology was considered a chief example of how the relationship between faith and ethnicity could become problematic. For this reason, two South African components of the project were proposed, namely a study of apartheid theology in the South African Reformed tradition and a study of anti-apartheid theology in the same tradition. This dissertation focuses on the latter topic. In order to limit its scope, this study focused on anti-apartheid theology in the Dutch Reformed ‘family’ of churches in South Africa and not on the other Reformed churches in South Africa.
During the research it became clear that, whereas ethnicity largely dictated the shape of apartheid theology (and of the Dutch Reformed family of churches), antiapartheid theology responded to the problem of ethnicity in a critical manner. It resisted the temptation to simply invert the existing ethnic divisions, for instance, by advocating that resources and power be reserved for the formerly disadvantaged ethnic groups. Moreover, it actively opposed ethnic differentiation as an organizing principle for church and society. In this sense the problem of ethnicity played a negative, albeit important, role in the shaping of anti-apartheid theology in the Dutch Reformed family.
Consequently, the concept of ethnicity, and with it social identity, are important terms to clarify. Chapter One therefore provides a conceptual analysis of ethnicity in so far as ethnicity poses a problem that requires analysis. The study of ethnicity presented here is not about interpreting individual and collective ethnic experiences and events that occur within specific contexts. It operates at a deeper level, namely to discuss general theories of ethnicity and consequently to formulate these within an operational framework for this project. This framework itself is, of course, a social construct that draws largely from the dominant modern social-scientific worldview. As such, certain choices and assumptions are made and this needs to be acknowledged.
The problem of ethnicity is posed in terms of the concept of ideology. This means that ethnicity in itself is not problematic, but becomes so when it is used to establish or sustain relations of domination between persons from different ethnic backgrounds. Here the critical definition of ideology applies, as formulated by the Cambridge sociologist John B. Thompson. In his work Thompson provides a method by which different forms of discourse may be analyzed in order to identify any possible ideological constructions. This method, which Thompson labels ‘depth hermeneutics’, has provided the methodological framework for this study as a whole. This is not to presuppose that anti-apartheid theology in the Dutch Reformed family of churches necessarily had an ideological character. Thompson’s method is well suited for an analysis of any social construction.
In so far as the theme here is faith and ethnicity, the social constructions to be analyzed will be of a theological and ecclesial character. The aim, however, is not to study general theories of ethnic ideology within religious discourse, but to learn what were the theological themes and constructions that underlay anti-apartheid theology in the Dutch Reformed family of churches. Following Thompson’s depth hermeneutic, this is conducted in three phases, namely socio-historical analysis, formal or discursive analysis and (re-)interpretation. One of the strengths of Thompson’s model is that it allows much flexibility for matching these various forms of analysis to the particular investigation. This is because he strongly emphasizes the importance of understanding social constructions (or what he calls symbolic forms) within their social and historical context.
With this flexibility it was possible to match Thompson’s methodological framework to anti-apartheid theology in the DR family of churches. Chapters Two, Three and Four address the three phases of depth hermeneutics respectively. Chapter Two provides a largely historical analysis of how ethnic differentiation became a determining factor in the social organization of the Dutch Reformed Church. The result was that the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa consisted of four different churches, namely the white Dutch Reformed Church (DRC), the mainly colored Dutch Reformed Mission Church (DRMC), the mainly black Dutch Reformed Church in Africa (DRCA) and the mainly Indian Reformed Church of Africa (RCA). These are generally referred to as the Dutch Reformed family of churches, with the latter three sometimes called the ‘younger’ or ‘mission’ DR churches. This study will attempt to provide an understanding of the socio-historical conditions within which anti-apartheid theology took shape in the Dutch Reformed family of churches.
Chapter Three provides a discursive analysis of the arguments, themes and topics that made up anti-apartheid theology in the DR churches. This forms the heart of the investigation. The aim will be to analyze anti-apartheid theology both from the younger DR churches and from the voices that emerged from the white DRC. From this a number of recurring theological themes and motifs will be identified. These two sets of analyses will provide the background for the fourth chapter. Here the material of the preceding analyses will be re-interpreted in order to suggest the possible theological motives that lay behind anti-apartheid theology. It therefore attempts to plumb a deeper level than the identification of theological arguments, rather investigating the theological undercurrents or sources that fed into anti-apartheid theology and gave it its shape. A common feature of this third phase of Thompson’s method is that it may suggest interpretations that conflict with general perceptions about the matter at hand. In this sense the fourth chapter here is presented as no more than a preliminary conclusion and an invitation for further dialogue and investigation. It will be suggested that what may be called ‘biblical theology’ played the most influential role in shaping anti-apartheid theology in the Dutch Reformed family of churches, particularly in the younger DR churches.
The concluding chapter will offer a number of brief evaluative remarks on two matters, namely methodology and theology. The depth-hermeneutical method and the definition of ethnicity that is used here will be evaluated and a number of suggestions for its further application will be made. Secondly, the theological themes that have emerged as salient features of Dutch Reformed anti-apartheid theology, namely the doctrines of ecclesiology and Christology, will be discussed. The question will be raised as to how the church’s position in society ought to be understood. A few suggestions in this regard will be offered as topics for further study and debate in post-apartheid theology. One of these suggestions will be that rhetorical hermeneutics can make a contribution towards understanding the relationships between Christ, the church and the world.
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