
Proselytization to Polarization: The Danger(s) of (Christian) Religious Education in South Africa
Issue: Vol.10 No. 11 November 2024 Issue Article 1 pp.1-14
DOI : https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.202410111 | Published online 28th November, 2024.
© 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
In most African nations, including South Africa, the history of religious education is closely linked to the nation’s experience of colonization and later racial segregation under apartheid. Christian religious education in particular came to be used as a proselytizing tool through the advocacy of early Christian missionaries. In addition to such proselytization, early Christian missionaries became very instrumental in the creation and perpetuation of secular polarized higher education curricula which continue to exhibit complete submission to Euro-centric thought. The purpose of this article was thus to draw a link between historical proselytization and contemporary religious polarization visible in the religious curricula of these institutions. Methodologically, this was demonstrated, first by looking at how the spread of Christianity suppressed, marginalized, and undermined native African religious education. Second, the history of Christian religious education was presented not only as an enrichment of the Christian proselytizing program but also as a missionary tool that consolidated the polarized education that continues to shape the curriculum design of higher education systems in the countries of southern Africa. Drawing largely from secondary sources, both in history and in religious studies, the article argued that in South Africa, religious education has been used to serve the colonial and oppressive apartheid systems. The main conclusion of this article is that many curricula in South Africa’s higher education systems still reflect or are characterized by a polarized type of Euro-centric education, which is a legacy of earlier Christian proselytization initiatives.
Keywords: Religious Education, Colonization, European Missionaries, Christianity, Proselytization
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Dr. Jonas Sello Thinane is a researcher at the University of South Africa (UNISA), College of Human Sciences (CHS) within the Research Institute for Theology and Religion (RITR). With a PhD in Theology, specializing in Missiology, he has dedicated his entire career to the study and research of missionary work. Since then, he has published numerous scholarly articles in prestigious journals, covering a wide range of theological topics, but particularly Missiology topics. In addition to his publications, Dr. Thinane continues to actively participate in local and international conferences, seminars, and webinars. As such, his academic contributions continue to make a mark both in South Africa and internationally.
Chitja Twala is a History Professor in the Department of Cultural and Political Studies at the University of Limpopo (UL), South Africa. He is the author of ten chapters (co-authored three) in a book series entitled The Road to Democracy in South Africa (1970–1990). He recently published a chapter co-authored with Peter Limb entitled: ‘The ICU in Free State Dorps and Dorpies’ in the book Labour Struggles in Southern Africa, 1919–1949 published in 2023. Another chapter co-authored with Mohau Soldaat is entitled ‘Lesotho migrant workers in the Orange Free State farms’ and was published in December 2023. In 2024, he co-edited a book entitled: Migration, Borders, and Borderlands: Making National Identity in Southern African Communities.
Thinane, Jonas Sello & Chitja Twala. “Proselytization to Polarization: The danger(s) of (Christian) Religious Education in South Africa,” E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies, 10 no.11 (2024): 1-14. https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.202410111
© 2024 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).