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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | The zion christian church and the apartheid regime |
Author: | Schoffeleers, J.M. |
Year: | 1988 |
Periodical: | Leidschrift: historisch tijdschrift |
Volume: | 4 |
Issue: | 3 |
Pages: | 42-57 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | South Africa |
Subjects: | African Independent Churches Church and State apartheid |
Abstract: | This article interprets the remarkable role played by the Zion Christian Church (ZCC) in South African politics. More particularly, it explains the church's grandiose Easter celebration of 1985 at Zion City, Moria, where State President P.W. Botha addressed a crowd of over two million black South Africans. The author argues that an explanation of the church's conservative character can be found in the fact that the ZCC puts so much emphasis on ritual healing, and that the Zion churches represent a version of black apartheid, stimulated by the system of white apartheid. Because of its large membership the ZCC is an interesting partner for the South African government. This large membership is due, inter alia, to its pan-ethnic character, its position on the labour market and its freedom from secessions. The explosive expansion in the past quarter of this century can be attributed to the mounting spiral of violence in the black townships: the Church's message of non-violence attracts that section of the public which wants to stem the tide of violence. Note, ref. |