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This study presents the religious factor in the development of a separatistic group identity among the forebears of the Afrikaners during the Dutch colonial period of South African history. Dutch Reformed covenant theology and baptism practice rooted in the thousand generation covenant theory helped to shape this self-understanding. It traces the basic developments of covenant theology in the Netherlands during the period and demonstrates how these concepts were conveyed to colonial South Africa. The dominant strain of covenantal thought treated the entire community as redeemed and called to be separate. It was presented through a variety of means through which virtually every colonist was exposed. This study offers a balanced historical approach to the role of theological concepts in the colonial roots of Afrikaner group identity. It answers traditional scholarship in the field which either directly identify the concepts behind the development of apartheid with Calvinist theology or, more recently, deny that the Reformed faith had any role in the development of apartheid ideology until the twentieth century.
This book includes all papers presented at the colloquium on Church and State on 28 February and 1-2 March 2001. The colloquium, focusing on the legal position of churches, the autonomy of churches in modern societies and recent tendencies in jurisprudence, was organised by the Faculty of Canon Law of the Catholic University Leuven in collaboration with the Faculty of Theology of the University of Stellenbosch. Both the conference and the book have two objectives. The fist is informing about the South African history on Church and State relationships and its current situation under the new Constitution. The second objective is to search for models leading to a new equilibrium between Church and State in South Africa. Models offered by other countries are examined as a point of reference or as a possible source of inspiration. International scholars and academics, church Ministers as well as leading politicians offer their viewpoints and enter into debate with each other.
The Global Refuge is the first global history of the Huguenots, Protestant refugees from France who scattered around the world in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Inspired by visions of Eden, these religious migrants were forced to navigate a world of empires, forming colonies in North America, the Caribbean, and even South Africa and the Indian Ocean.
In this age of globalization, a need for a communicative explanation of personal and group positions also motivates Christians to describe more precisely their identity in relation to other actors in society. What makes a Christian a Christian? What is specifically Christian in social acions or political calling? Is there a difference between Christian justice and justice in general – and the way Christians deal with justice? What is our calling as Christians? The contributions in this volume are the result of the 6th biannual IRTI conference in Seoul 2005 on this theme.
The focus of this volume is on the historical and geographical elements of law and religion. The first part delineates and analyzes the relation between church and state from the Gregorian Revolution to the human rights era and gives a sense of the evolution of the church and state relationship, whilst the second part explores law and religion issues around the world. The volume redresses the tendency towards a western-centric approach in the discipline by including essays from regional experts which present local approaches to law and religion in Asia, Africa, and South America. The collection is unique in that it brings together wide-ranging case studies and out-of-print papers and is an important resource for established and new scholars in the field.
The title Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth (Hebrews 11:13) captures well the eschatological nature of the christology which has become so central in the theological enterprise of Prof. dr. Abraham van de Beek. At the occasion of his sixty-fifth birthday in October 2011, many of his former colleagues and students honour him in this Festschrift with a contribution to one of the themes that have been central to his theology: christology, theology of Israel, eschatology, theology of the church, creation theology, and freedom of religion. The volume opens with an article providing an overview of his theological development, one probing his deepest theological intentions, and with an up to date bib...
What does it mean to be Reformed Christians in the world today ? and in Africa and South Africa? What does it mean to commemorate the legacy of John Calvin (1509-1564) after 500 years ? in a modern world characterised by democracy, by popular notions of human dignity and human rights, by worldwide struggles for individual freedoms and for social justice, by a global economy in crisis ? when social historians argue about the lasting contribution of Calvin and his followers precisely with respect to all these modern phenomena? The 28 essays by Dirkie Smit selected for this volume deal with such questions.
The workplace is a key forum in which the issue of religion and its position in the public sphere is under debate. Desires to observe and express religious beliefs in the workplace can introduce conflict between employees and employers. This book addresses the role the law plays in the resolution of these potential conflicts. The book considers the definition and underlying motives of religious expression, and explores the different ways it may impact the workplace. Andrew Hambler identifies principled responses to workplace religious expression within a liberal state and compares this to the law applying in England and Wales and its interpretation by courts and tribunals. The book determines the extent to which freedom of religious expression for the individual enjoys legal protection in the workplace in England and Wales, and asks whether there is a case for changing the law to strengthen that protection. The book will be of great use and interest to scholars and students of religion and the law, employment law, and religion and human rights.
The volume offers contributions reflecting the understanding of Christian identity in the midst of changing cultural, socio-economic, political and religious context in a a globalized world.
This volume presents a systematic collection of the various international legal sources that define the rights of religious minorities. In a time of increasing tensions around religious minorities, this volume presents a systematic collection of international and European documents on the protection and promotion of religious minorities’ rights. The code includes documents from the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the European Union. An index system connects the various sources and norms, and emphasizes the strengths and the weaknesses in the legal frameworks of international and European institutions. While allowing for fur...