Berkley Center

Within hours of arriving in Cape Town, while still marveling at the view of Table Mountain and the warmth of a January summer, one becomes pervasively aware of the region’s diversity and the overarching importance of race. The issue of race in South Africa is at once subtle and overt; while the post-apartheid reconciliation process looks to transcend its impact, race remains the predominant factor in the organization of South African society. With race at the forefront of national consciousness, all other areas of difference, including religion, are subsumed by and aligned with racial categories. Therefore, in order to understand the role and influence of religion in South Africa, one must begin with an examination of religion’s ties to racial divides and social diversity.

The interaction between racial divides and religion in South Africa dates back to the seventeenth century, when the first slaves were brought to the Cape colony. During the period of Dutch rule, slaves were excluded from all aspects of religious life, including baptism and marriage, for fear that allowing slaves into the Christian community would decrease their marketability. Thus, a corresponding religious divide (between Christians and non-Christians) was created alongside the social and economic divisions between white slave owners and their slaves, who were imported from a wide array of countries. As the colony grew and other religious practices became available, many slaves converted to Islam, citing its emphasis on equality and willingness to recognize marriages among slaves. Originating in the formational stages of the modern South African state, religious differences have long been entrenched in issues of race and class. As a consequence of this history, while Cape Town’s religious diversity has played an important role in social struggles, it has not been the cause of such movements.

The partition of religious practices along lines of race and class remains a reality in South African society, where religious and racial communities are largely synonymous. Additionally, the diversity of religious belief and practice in South Africa clearly illustrates the sociological hypothesis that the less validation and fulfillment one receives from society, the more s/he will turn to religion to meet these needs—the poorer one is in the physical world, the more religious s/he will be. Within the affluent, predominantly white suburb in which my homestay family is located, religion is considered a highly private matter. While a variety of religions are practiced, worship is conducted in a manner separate from the daily life and neighborhood interactions of the public sphere.

Only miles away, an entirely different form of religious life is visible. In the townships and low-income sections of the city, religion is highly visible, and services of worship are evangelical and socially oriented. Religion in these areas evokes a more direct connection between public and private life. In such communities, religion must simultaneously address the physical and spiritual needs of residents. To address needs in both arenas, social issues, such as the HIV/AIDS epidemic, are often integrated into sermon topics.