Prophetic Mission of Faith Communities during Apartheid South Africa, 1948-1994: An agenda for Prophetic Mission Praxis in the Democratic SA

Abstract

Prophetic mission praxis is increasingly becoming difficult in the democratic South Africa. This article unearths and analyses the prophetic role played by faith communities in South Africa during the apartheid regime. It focuses on different approaches adopted by each of the major faith communities in response to apartheid. The author categorises the role of faith communities into three viz; those that supported apartheid, those that rejected it and those that adopted what he refers to as quiet diplomacy with regards to apartheid. Apart from Christian faith communities, the author also analyses the role played by other faith communities such as Islam and African Traditional Religions. Having this in mind, the author looks at the current situation with regards to the prophetic role of faith communities in the democratic South Africa and thereafter proposes a way-forward for a relevant prophetic mission praxis.

Keywords

• Apartheid
• faith communities
• churches
• Dutch Reformed Church
• Nationalist Party
• Daughter Churches
• African Initiated Churches
• African Traditional Religions