The Church's Struggle Against Apartheid

The Church's Struggle Against Apartheid

The failure to denounce, resist and incite to resist apartheid and its

resulting violations of human rights, constitutes the failure of the

church to live up to its faith convictions. Rather the church often

got caught up in its debates on the legitimacy and right of resistance

against the authorities. These debates were dominated by the question

of the violence and the armed struggle. This furthermore happened

under circumstances in which our members were part of the armed wings

of the liberation movements. Prozesky, Martin, Christianity in South

Africa p 132

The Churches struggle against apartheid and a comment on the

effectiveness of this Challenge.

When the National party was officially elected to parliament in 1948

they implemented a policy of Apartheid. Apartheid literally means

apart, and was the separation of blacks and whites painstakingly and

permanently[1].

But we must also remember that the oppression of coloured persons

living in South Africa did not start with the National party but with

the white colonizers. When South Africa was colonized, the black

natives had there lands seized they were deprived of there political

identity and the cultural and religious identities were suppressed.[2]

“It was the beginning of a form of oppression which characterizes the

social structure of South Africa today.”[3]

Some of the most extreme Afrikaners looked up to Hitler, The path of

racial segregation for South Africa was not a Master plan leading to

the final solution, it was a general policy for the country that was

adapted over time to meet the circumstances of the country at...

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...r and Gerald J. Pillay, A History of Christianity in

South Africa Volume 1, page 272

[20] Stanley Clayton, Methodism In Africa, page 33

[21] Martin Prozesky, Christianity in South Africa, page 273

[22] Charles Villa-Vicencio, Trapped In Apartheid, page 126

[23] J.W. Hofmeyr and Gerald J. Pillay, A History of Christianity in

South Africa Volume 1, page 271

[24] Charles Villa-Vicencio, Trapped In Apartheid, page 129

[25] J.W. Hofmeyr and Gerald J. Pillay, A History of Christianity in

South Africa Volume 1, page 272

[26] Martin Prozesky, Christianity in South Africa, page 272

[27] Martin Prozesky, Christianity in South Africa, page 272

[28] J.W. Hofmeyr and Gerald J. Pillay, A History of Christianity in

South Africa Volume 1, page 271

[29] Martin Prozesky, Christianity in South Africa, page 278