Religion and spirituality in South Africa: New Perspectives
edited by Duncan Brown (UKZN Press)
Fewer than half the authors in this collection of academic studies of religion in contemporary South Africa are theologians. This may surprise those with a theological leaning but it is by no means necessarily bad news. After all, my fellow theologians, isn’t it good to see that members of the secular academy — lawyers, philosophers, literary scholars, fiction writers, political scientists and astronomers — take religion seriously?
Similarly, it can only be good to see, in an age of the new atheism and fairly superficial attacks on religion, that these same scholars are neither reductionist in their critique nor hostile in tone.
The collection covers a range of themes and religious perspectives. The tone is set by an essay that looks critically at the rulings of the Constitutional Court on matters of religion. The author, Patrick Lenta, highlights the way in which particular beliefs are negotiated in a secular democratic state that has to arbitrate between a range of belief systems, many of which are in disagreement over fundamental issues. Lenta concludes that the court — despite being avowedly secular — is remarkably sensitive to religious views, even when ruling against particular religious claims.
Politically, faith has a number of voices, not all of which are as effective as they could be, particularly in the spaces provided by the state. Part of this is no doubt because religious groups feel unsure of themselves in the new, “open” society of post-1994. Other faiths, particularly those that were previously disadvantaged by Calvinist Christian Nationalism, have found new operating space in which to function, even if they do not always find the secular state comfortable.
Previously “underground” faiths such as neo-paganism have enjoyed newfound freedom in the new dispensation and have the space to challenge hostile mythologies about them.
All faiths are representations at least on some levels of cultural and political practices and sometimes represent these practices in a variety of ways. Here two articles stand out. Michael Green’s historical analysis of an early 20th-century case in “demonic possession” in then-Natal is a brilliant reflection on how the “demonic” may be an expression of social and religious disease.
Scripture scholar Gerald West also highlights the way religious texts may be used in political discourse — in this case a perceptive exegesis of former president Thabo Mbeki’s use of the Judeo-Christian Bible in speeches.
A review in a newspaper cannot do full justice to the contents of this welcome new book. What is perhaps more useful is to reflect on what such a book might contribute to a number of sectors.
To the secular sphere, here and abroad, it serves to remind us of the variety and complexity of religion in a society. The monolithic monster of Christian Nationalism has been successfully abandoned (if I may echo Professor Green here I might even say exorcised) and what we have in its place is a delightfully varied collection of reflections on faith.
We are a nation of many beliefs and this variety placed in a kind of dialogue here can only highlight to secularists the vibrancy and importance of belief. Not, let me add, to convert anyone from a particular faith (or lack thereof) but to stress that belief to many is important and contributes richness to a society’s culture.
To politicians this book is a call to acknowledge the complexity of our society, one that does not live by ideology and policymaking alone. Any effective politician must negotiate a complex path, conscious of the fact that other factors than party programmes affect constituents. Jacob Zuma’s recent electoral wooing of the Pentecostal and African Initiated churches is a sign that some have learned this lesson. Other politicians should follow this example, while also being aware that voters belong to many different worldviews.
Theologians and church leaders — not always identical it must be noted — also need to see themselves more clearly as part of a wider religious world. Pluralism and a secular state make universal statements and truth claims more difficult to assert. A certain humility in pronouncements is needed, backed up by better arguments that do not appeal simply to internal or circular dogmatic truth claims, if religious voices are to be both “universal” and convincing. The reflections in this book, coming from a range of Christian, Hindu, Muslim, traditionalist and alternative perspectives, take such challenges forward considerably. As such, they should be welcomed.
On a more negative note, the book will obviously suffer from being too short, not comprehensive enough. In particular it does not examine new developments in spirituality that are having considerable impact. One thinks, to use the Christian tradition as an example, of the rise of ecumenical spiritualities that cross denominations — how, for example, Ignatian Spirituality (a tradition rooted in the 16th-century Catholic Spanish mystic Ignatius of Loyola) has become popular within growing sectors of Catholic, Anglican, Methodist and Reformed churches.
In fairness to the editor and the authors, comprehensiveness is not possible. To do so would have meant putting together an encyclopaedia, not the intention of this book. What we have instead is a first-class collection of academic essays that point the way towards further research and writing that transcends confessional and religious boundaries. For this the authors deserve praise. One hopes it is a sign of more good things to come.