Opinion | How religion shapes a free and democratic South Africa

Nico Koopman

South Africa is a secular state in a very special way. We make room for secular, intellectual, cultural and religious views in our public sphere. We welcome expressions of these different voices in public as long as they contribute to building a free and democratic country where alife of dignity, healing, justice, freedom and equality for all is actualised.

As we celebrate Freedom Day on 27 April, let us also remind one another that religious worldviews, faith convictions and practices of a rich diversity of religions can play a distinctive - and even indispensable - role in building a society grounded in dignity and rights for all. The vast majority of South Africans adhere to a diversity of religions.

Religion 

Religions exercise a threefold presence in society, namely a prophetic presence, a priestly or pastoral presence and an ethical presence. Prophetic presence is exercised in at least five ways. It entails that religions can help us remember the vision of a new society where dignity for all, healing for all, justice for all, freedom and equality for all reign supreme. The prophetic presence of religions also entails that courageous, informed and fair criticismis offered where there are various forms of betrayal of this vision. Criticism means distinguishing between progress towards materialising this vision and exposing our failure to do so. But criticism also entails self-criticism.

Religions have an ambivalent track-record with regard to embodying human dignity and human rights. They have played both a constructive and a destructive role, as we can see in past and present religious legitimations for racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, ableism, ageism and ecocide (the destruction of the environment by humans).

Madiba

When the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa was established on 14 April 1994, the late Nelson Mandela attended the worship service at the synod. The vice-chairperson of the synod, Reverend Sam Buti of Alexandra in Johannesburg, welcomed Madiba. He expressed appreciation for his father’s cherished journey with Madiba in the liberation struggle. He indicated that the new church would support the process of building a free and democratic society. He, however, also pointed out that just as churches opposed the apartheid government, they would criticise and oppose the incoming government if they betray the vision of democracy.

The leadership of synod furthermore decided that Madiba could not address synod, since he was present, not as president of South Africa, but as leader of one of the political parties that were participating in the elections to be held on 27 April. Because we were so excited that Madiba was present, it was not easy to take this decision. With this stance, the synod indicated that churches should impact on political life, but that they should not advantage specific political parties. Two weeks before the birth of democracy, the new church offered clear guidelines for the prophetic presence of churches in a democracy.

The prophetic role of religion also entails that we tell the tragic stories of pain, especially the pain of the most marginalised and vulnerable members of society. We also tell the hope-giving stories of healing and restoration of dignity. Scientific analysis is another mode of prophetic presence.

Spelling out a vision of a new society is not enough. We need to engage in technical and scientific analyses to seek ways of advancing the materialisation of that vision. One of the first interdisciplinary research projects that I engaged in 20 years ago at Stellenbosch University was a project in which we strived to do theory-building that advances the fulfilment of socio-economic rights. Such technical analysis also enables us to criticise the status quo and identify limitations in such a way that remedies can be developed collaboratively and effectively.

Impact

Prophetic presence further implies that we impact on public debates and discussion; that we help shape public opinion; and that we constructively participate in and impact upon policymaking processes in various sectors of society. Besides the prophetic presence of religions, religions exercise a priestly and pastoral presence in society. This means that religions can help with building cohesion and embrace in a society like ours where we, despite significant progress in some areas, still experience division and alienation.

This priestly presence entails that we work for healing of many wounds - physical wounds, psychological wounds (mental wounds, emotional wounds, motivational wounds), societal wounds, socio-economic wounds, ecological wounds, moral wounds, and spiritual wounds. The priestly presence entails that we embrace diversity and that, as South Africans from diverse backgrounds, we together overcome discrimination, poverty, violence, abuse, injustice and dehumanisation in various forms

.Religions’ ethical presence in society means that they help us to embody human rights by shaping ‘right humans - individuals of character and civic virtue. Character means that good values are engraved into us; that we live with integrity; that the good that we envision and our desires, thoughts, words, decisions, actions and our refusal to do certain things are all integrated.

Virtue

Virtue means that we live with good habits and predispositions, inclinations and intuitions; that we do the good without always having to reflect upon it. Philosophers like Aristotle and theologians like Augustine helped to develop seven civic and public virtues that we still hunger for: public wisdom in contexts of complexity, ambiguity, ambivalence and plurality; public justice in contexts of inequalities and unfairness on locally and globally; public temperance in contexts of greed and consumerism amidst poverty and marginalisation; public fortitude amidst experiences of powerlessness and inertia; public faith amidst feelings of disorientation and rootlessness in contemporary societies; public hope amidst situations of despair and melancholy; and public love in societies where so many do not know compassion and solidarity.

Character and virtue imply that as South Africans we continue to build a free and democratic society with its vision of human dignity and human rights. Let us celebrate this shared vision on Freedom Day.

*Koopman is Deputy is Vice-Chancellor for Social Impact, Transformation and Personnel at Stellenbosch University.

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