LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
4.1 Introduction
Racism has affected almost every facet of the people' s lives in South Africa. These include education, sport. business to mention just a few. On many occasions we hear or read of racial tensions within the sports circles. most noticeably in our cricket and rugby national teams. [n education. we often hear or read of racial issues especially in the beginning of our academic year. You hear of former white schools refusing to admit black pupils. In the business circle. you hear of black managers complaining of being sidelined in decision making processes. The church is no exception in this regard as we have seen in the previous chapter. The church was, in apartheid South Africa, so divided that believers would not worship together because of the differences in the colour of their skins. Even when believers belonged to the samc denomination. they would go to different local churches in the same town because of their different skin colour. Today in the new South Africa, in the post-apartheid era. the challenge is no longer that of the colour of the skin so much, but of culture. The issue of culture has become a serious one in South Africa and even more so in local churches.
South Africa is a home for people with different cultures. Many people call this nation a
"rainbow" nation. This rainbow is not only retlected by the colour of our skins but also
by the different cultures. These cultures must be allowed to exist and be nurtured, hence the study of the challenge of multiculturalism in the South African local churches. The local churches in our cities and towns must retlect the beauty of our rainbow nation.
If South Africa is a country of multi-cultures, this study is therefore imperative. This is a valid reason for conducting a study such as this one. The reason for this study is to encourage understanding and respect of each other's culture so that we can worship God together and serve each other well irrespective or our differences. It also encourages local churches to view cultural ditferences from a positive point of view. Our cultural differences must be used so as to compliment each other rather than cause division in the body of Christ in South Africa. Wederspahn says that:
People always have reasons to learn about their cultures ... The contlict between Muslim and Christian beliefs and values that preoccupied much of Europe and the Middle East from the Crusades until about the 161hcentaury was a negative type of cross - cultural encounter. Macro Polo's account of his trip through Asia in 1274 sparked new interest in foreign lands and customs on the part of Westerners. The age of exploration that began around 1400 brought many societies throughout the world into sudden contact with each other. The establishment of commercial and colonial empires by western powers in the 1700's intensified the day-to-day interaction between people from vastly different background (Wederspahn 2000:8).
The negative cross-cultural encounter is taking place everyday between teachers and students; business owners, service or product providers and their customers. on bank queue and also between pastors and their congregants or in church meetings. This is the outcome of people of different cultures living together South Africa has experienced an intlux of people from different cultures who came to South Ati'ica for different reasons.
Some came for trade and commerce. others to establish colonial empires and still others came for missionary reasons.
Wederspahn adds that the Protestant missionary movement of the 1800's created a new interest in the customs and lifestyles of other cultural groups. The emergence of the modern nation-state raised a great awareness of cultural identity. This is a result of
boarders drawn between and around various ethnic groups (Wederspahn 2000:8) He further quotes lawaharla Nehru who says that:
If we seek to understand a people. we have to try to put ourselves.
as far as we can in their particular historical and culture background. One has to recognize that countries and people differ in their approach to life and their ways of living and thinking ...
We have to use their language. not language in the narrow sense.
but the language of the mind (cf Wederspahn 2000:8).
There is an urgent need to learn about each other in South Africa. in particular the Church as the main focus of this thesis. If the Church in South Africa is not willing to learn about the cultures of the people. the unfortunate history of racism and monoculturalism may be repeated. The history of monoculturalism of human relations in South Africa is filled with misunderstanding. intolerance. friction and unnecessary conflict. Some people see others as enemies to be defeated or competitors to be won over. If they fail to overcome them they. demonize their cultures and customs and give them a new set of values and culture foreign to them and make them forget who they are.
To avoid the repetition of this grievous historical mistake. the Church in South Africa needs a well developed systematic tool to help wrestle with the challenge of multiculturalism in local churches. This tool should provide knowledge. understanding and also promote mutual acceptance of different cultures and positive interaction on the basis of equality in a multicultural local church. About this. Wederspahn had this to say:
Only recently have the knowledge and the intellectual tools needed to systematically promote acceptance and positive interaction among people of different cultures have been made available.
During the past 50 years. the academic disciplines of anthropology. sociology. psychology. linguistics comparative management, and communications all have contributed to the development of intercultural field. The international experience of corporations and humanitarian. religion. and deYelopment organizations also has provided input ...
The field is a relatively new area of endeavor being defined by a fledging profession. Providers are typically rushing to meet the
needs of their clients. They also have the challenge of working with their colleagues to establish a generally accepted set of qualifications. approaches. tools and standards that is the hallmark of a fully recognized profession (Wederspahn 2000:8-9).
Before we look at the definition and description of multiculturalism in its fullest and broadest sense, it is imperative to define culture itself.