Multiculturalism and the Church in South Africa 7.0. Introduction
7.1. Multiculturalism -Its Diversity and Identity
CHAPTER 7
Multiculturalism and the Church in South Africa
historic mainline churches; or the new independent charismatic churches with each other and the rest of us.
Even within denominations there is much diversity, and charismatics, evangelicals, liberals and social activists often find more in common with others outside their denominations than within them. What is clear in seeking to help the rebirth of the ecumenical church diversity which is present within the churches. The question is how to do this in fulfillment of the ecumenical mandate rather than in opposition to it (pityana and Vincencio 1995: 15-16).
People need a sense of belonging not just to' the universal church' or' the church in South Africa', but to particular local congregations, particular movements, and organisations within the church. In this sense, belonging to a denomination help provide people with a sense of identity and loyalty to which their can relate. This is one of the problems facing united congregations in which several denominations participate. Pityana and Vincencio (1995) comment that many people find it difficult to cope with diversity in expressions of faith and worship, often preferring the tested ways of their own background rather than the attempt to create new ecumenical forms of life and worship. There is greater certainty and security in denominationalism especially in times of social transition such as we are experiencing. Church leadersinparticular find it easier to retain control and provide direction when then can function within their own structures without any real need to consult or co-operate with others (pityana and Vincencio 1995: 16).
The roots of denominationalism are often more sociological than theological. If we trace the origin of each of our denominations, we will soon see that social and political forces played a major role in bringing them into being. What was and is at the heart of the rise of denominationalism is the question of identity. The Protestant Reformation was bound up with a growing sense of what it meant to be German, Scottish or English. InEngland, denominationalism has also been closely related to the class structures of society, just as North America it was often bound up with race. The African indigenous church movement began as part of the Ethiopian
reaction to European colonisation, and seldom actually changed the theology which they had learnt from the missionaries (Pityana and Vincencio 1995: 16-17).
Denominationalism came to South Africa with colonialism. All of the historic confessional divisions amongst us are imported, and most of the reasons for these divisions have little significance for a large segment of the membership. But whatever the reasons for the divisions - now often long forgotten and in any case usually not understood - the reality of denominational identities is very strong, having taken on new characteristics and dynamics within our context. Pityana and Vivencio (1995) say that, the irony is that while we have rightly rejected the way in which the missionaries gave their support to colonialism, many of us have accepted uncritically the denominational divisions which is also part of their legacy. Thus, for many people, denominational loyalty is now an essential part of their identity as Christians, and there is strong resistance to anything which might change it (Pityana and Vincencio 1995 :17).
Denominations that exist in South Africa are many; it gives an idea of denominational identities of churches. 10hnstone (2001), presents some interesting statistics of denominational figures of which the Zion Christian Church is the largest.
Churches Affiliates
Zion Christian Church .4,200,000
Catholic 3,372,492
Anglican (Church of Province) 1,500,000
Methodist···.·· ; 1,462,379
Dutch Reformed(NGK) 1,227,621
United Reformed Church in S.A 1,205,943
Apostolic Faith Mission( AFM) 1,000,000
Assemblies of God .. ··· l ,000,000
Evangelical Lutheran Church in S.A 769,000
12 Apostles Church in Christ 650,000
Full Gospel Church of God , 400,000
Presbyterian Church of Africa... 350,000 New Apostolic Church... 345,589
Dutch Reformed (NHK) 300,000
International Fellowship of Christian Churches 300,000
United CongregationaL , 270,253
Pentecostal Protestant. .. ... . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... . ... ... ... ... 160,000
Jehovah's Witnesses ···· 155,000
Presbyterian Church of S.A. 150,000
Seventh Day Adventist. 140,000
Baptist Union of S.A... 112,402
Reformed (GK) 101,159
Moravian , 100,200
Church of England in S.A 100,000
Reformed Presbyterian... 90,000
Africa Evangelical... 60,000
Baptist Convention 55,000
Pentecostal Holiness 49,900
Salvation Army 45,000
Church of the Nazarene 37,162
Evangelical Bible 35,000
Zulu Congregational 23,000
OtherDenomlna Ions. t' 9,332,000
Religion Adherents
Christian 29,684,861
T d"ra ltlonaI E hn'tIC... 6,606,487
Non- Religious / Other 3,462,428
Muslim... 585,460
Hindu 505,707
Baha'i 201,883
Jewish... 68,640
Buddhist, Chinese ··· .12,113
(Johnstone 2001: 577)
Elphick & Davenport (1997) comment that, because Christians have been so numerous and so politically influential, Christian doctrine, language, and sentiment are also interwoven in the social and cultural history of South Africa. Starting with the missionary campaign to Christianise African societies, some of the most intimate matters of white and black culture in South Africa - initiation, marriage, divorce, sexuality, association with people of other races, and even dress and drinking patterns - have been debated at length and with passion ,largely in Christian terms. Also ,until the 1950's, churches and missions controlled almost all schools for Africans, and, to this day, many private schools for largely white elite.
So, too social work, medicine, and nursing all were, to varying degrees, sponsored by Christian missions and churches. And the literature of Afrikaners and Africans was, until, the Second World War, largely shaped by churches, missions, and publishers with Christian agendas; both literatures, like that of English-speaking whites, were replete with Christian motifs and allusions.
Because Christianity has become the religion of the vast majority of South Africans, including the rulers, it might be well have contributed a common language, aspirations, and, a common rituals to the integration of a highly divided society.
Yet its integrative role has, so far, been slight, partly because it has so successfully adapted its message to many cultural traditions and to many social settings. Most South African Christians conduct their religious life within tightly bounded enclaves of race, of ethnicity, or of class - and sometimes of gender. One encounters, for example, highly distinctive Afrikaans, Sotho, Zulu, English, German, Coloured, and Indian Christianities, each with further male and female nuances. This capacity to be 'translated' - first into another language, then into
another culture - which the Gambian mission theorist Lamin Sanneh sees as the striking feature of Christianity worldwide, has, in South Africa, been in tension with the universalism of the Christian proclamation that 'there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus' (Elphick and Davenport 1997: 1, 11).