Chronicle of the re-enactment of the TRC's Faith Communities' Hearings with a view to the present and future of a post-TRC South Africa : 8-9 October 2014, Stellenbosch
Date
2020
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
African Sun Media
Abstract
On 8 October 2014, the Beyers Naudé Centre for Public Theology in the Faculty
of Theology, Stellenbosch University, in collaboration with the Desmond and Leah
Tutu Legacy Foundation, hosted the re-enactment (also called a re-enactment
consultation) of the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions’ (TRC) Faith Communities'
Hearings. During the TRC’s Faith Communities’ Hearing in 1997, different faith
communities in South Africa, including Christian churches and some religious
organisations, submitted presentations on their role in the apartheid history of
our country. They also commented on their commitment to reconciliation and a
reconciled future for South Africa. It was no coincidence that the re-enactment
coincided with the 20th commemoration of the birth of a democratic South Africa,
as at the time, and following it, there was an increase in the divisions and friction within South African society in general and, in particular, on the role that the
faith communities play or should play in this regard. Therefore, the re-enactment
aimed to find, amid the 20-year celebrations, ways to again put the process of
reconciliation back on the main agenda of all faith communities in the country. The
re-enactment further attempted to make a significant contribution to reconciliation
and national unity in the current South African context. It hoped to contribute to
the development of responsible and realistic reconciliation strategies for the faith
communities and to offer practical suggestions on how to address the challenges
of reconciliation and nation-building at the southern-most tip of our continent.
In telling the story of the re-enactment, the structure of this chronicle will first
describe the events leading up to it; next, it will give an overview of the two days of
the re-enactment; and, finally, it will end with a general conclusion.
Description
CITATION: Thesnaar, C. & Hansen, L. 2020. Chronicle of the re-enactment of the TRC's Faith Communities' Hearings with a view to the present and future of a post-TRC South Africa : 8-9 October 2014, Stellenbosch, in Thesnaar, C. H. & Hansen, L. D. (eds.) 2020. Unfinished business? Faith communities and reconciliation in a post-TRC context. Stellenbosch: SUN MeDIA, doi:10.18820/9781928480518/03.
The original publication is available at https://africansunmedia.store.it.si/za
The original publication is available at https://africansunmedia.store.it.si/za
Keywords
South Africa Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Truth commissions -- South Africa, Church and state -- South Africa -- History -- 20th century, Reconciliation -- Political aspects -- South Africa, Religion and politics -- South Africa
Citation
Thesnaar, C. & Hansen, L. 2020. Chronicle of the re-enactment of the TRC's Faith Communities' Hearings with a view to the present and future of a post-TRC South Africa : 8-9 October 2014, Stellenbosch, in Thesnaar, C. H. & Hansen, L. D. (eds.) 2020. Unfinished business? Faith communities and reconciliation in a post-TRC context. Stellenbosch: SUN MeDIA, doi:10.18820/9781928480518/03.