Original Research
Het kerke ’n publieke rol in ’n pluralistiese Suid-Afrika?
Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 32, No 1 | a503 |
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/ve.v32i1.503
| © 2011 Willem Fourie
| This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 17 February 2011 | Published: 28 July 2011
Submitted: 17 February 2011 | Published: 28 July 2011
About the author(s)
Willem Fourie,, South AfricaAbstract
Churches’ public role in a pluralistic South Africa
South Africa’s diversity provides significant challenges to public involvement by churches. In some circles it is even believed that this diversity disqualifies churches from any form of public involvement. This diversity is protected by a liberal constitution and nurturing it is one of the explicit aims of the South African consolidating democracy. The German theologians Michael Welker and Wolfgang Huber typify the diversity of democratic societies as ‘pluralism’. In this article, both theologians’ conceptualisation of ‘pluralism’ was considered and used to set conditions for the South African churches’ public involvement.
South Africa’s diversity provides significant challenges to public involvement by churches. In some circles it is even believed that this diversity disqualifies churches from any form of public involvement. This diversity is protected by a liberal constitution and nurturing it is one of the explicit aims of the South African consolidating democracy. The German theologians Michael Welker and Wolfgang Huber typify the diversity of democratic societies as ‘pluralism’. In this article, both theologians’ conceptualisation of ‘pluralism’ was considered and used to set conditions for the South African churches’ public involvement.
Keywords
democracy; diversity; dialogue; pluralism; public theology
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