Magister Theologiae - MTh / Christianity has been diverse from its beginning, with local congregations established in different geographic contexts. Over the centuries it has been, and still is, subject to further fragmentation. The rise of Pentecostalism during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century has led to further fragmentation, also in South Africa. This study will contribute to the sub-discipline of contemporary church history by examining the ecumenical relationships between local churches. It will investigate the ongoing fragmentation of Christianity through the establishment of twelve new Pentecostal churches in the suburb of Belhar since the start of the century (2000-2013). These include: Breakthrough Christian Church, City of Grace (Living Waters) Community Centre, Philia Community Worship Centre, Logos Assembly of God Ministries, Belhar Lighthouse Family Church, Living Word and Faith Temple Church, Open Doors Full Gospel Church, Faith Christian Fellowship Church, New Birth Pentecostal Church, Moria Gemeentes Church, Edon Elohim Pentecostal Ministries and Pentecostal Church of Jesus Christ. The questions that will be posed in this study are why such churches came into being, what attracts members to these newly established churches and how they understand the relationships with other Pentecostal churches and so-called mainline churches in Belhar and further afield. The research problem that will therefore be addressed is: “What are the factors contributing to the continual fragmentation of Christian churches in Belhar from 2000 to 2013?” By documenting the establishment, growth and ecumenical relations of such churches, this study will seek to enhance the understanding of the factors that led to further and rapid fragmentation of Christianity in South Africa.

This minithesis provides an ethnographic account of the life world of older people in the community of Belhar in the Cape Peninsula, which was historically categorised as a &lsquo / coloured&rsquo / community during the implementation of the Group Areas Act. By content analysing newspaper articles published in the early 1980s and specifically during the implementation of the Group Areas Act I found that many of the residents reported that they lived in fear of their lives, in what was once known as a &lsquo / prestige suburb&rsquo / . At the present time the community of Belhar is an intensely gang-infested area. From preliminary research done by myself at a senior citizen centre in Belhar, the high incidence of violence was a recurring theme throughout discussions with older people. In fact when I posed the question Why do you come to the centre five days a week? to a group of older people they answered without hesitation It is unsafe for an older person to be alone during the day. Answers like these to many of the questions that I posed would almost always be followed with Things were better then. It also was apparent that the older people in this community remember (or perhaps reconstruct) the past in the context of their present living situation. This became the leading theme in my study and is also the background against which I had formulated my research questions. However this study not only focused on the impact of the high incidence of violence on the community of older people but also essentially looked at elderly residents&rsquo / everyday lived experiences in Belhar. The research sample consisted of twenty elderly residents and four key informants. The latter provided mainly infrastructural data on the community. Primary data was collected by using ethnographic techniques of inquiry which included participant observation and unstructured interviews. Results revealed that older people occupy a liminal space both in the community and in their households. I also found that the elderly stroke victim is twice silenced and marginalized due to the constraints brought on by their chronic illness and their status as an older person in the community.

For many decades, the World Health Organisation had highlighted the growing importance of chronic non-communicable diseases in developed and developing countries, with an increase in lifestyle-related diseases. Physical inactivity has been identified as one of the risk factors, in addition to other leading risk factors like diet, and the use of tobacco and alcohol, contributing to the occurrence of non-communicable diseases like cardiovascular diseases, cancers, obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Based on the researcher's observations while living in Belhar community for more then ten years, it was hypothesized that the level of physical inactivity among adolescents could become a public health problem in the future if not addressed immediately.

Magister Artium - MA / Overindulgence is widely regarded as a serious social problem in South Africa leading to obesity and associated medical and psychological issues. This study investigated overindulgence from the perspective of Islamic Studies. In the Muslim tradition, overindulgence is regarded as a vice which is contrasted with the virtue of temperance in the Qur’an and the Hadith. There is a long tradition of Muslim virtue ethics that draws from Greek philosophy but also from medieval Arabic sources. This study required an overview of such literature in order to profile contemporary discourse on the virtue of temperance against this historical background. Even though the virtue of temperance is praised, and the vice of overindulgence is frowned upon in Muslim communities, this does preclude overindulgence amongst Muslims, not even in the holy month of Ramadan. This may be understood in terms of the classic problem of moral formation where it is recognised that virtue cannot be taught. Knowledge of the good does not suffice for the realisation of the good. In terms of this study, this begs the question what kind of considerations play a role in motivating some Muslims to overindulge despite Muslim teachings in this regard, even amidst contexts of food insecurity. In this study, I investigated the perceptions of such considerations found within Muslim households associated with the Rylands and Belhar mosques. This required a Qualitative Approach where Semi-structured Interviews were conducted with around 10 households associated with each of these mosques. The local Imam in each case was asked to select ten such households of good moral standing. These interviews were recorded and analysed in order to describe the perceptions amongst Muslims of good moral standing with regards to the considerations that play a role in habits of over-indulgence. The study found several determinants of overindulgence within the selected Muslim households associated with the Rylands and Belhar mosques namely, food insecurity, spiritual apathy, emotional eating, conspicuous and hedonistic consumption as well as social environmental cues. However, food insecurity was exclusive to the Muslim community of Belhar who are distinctive from the inhabitants of Rylands in terms of social-economic status as well as race. This community is largely of Malay origin and is disadvantaged economically compared to their counterparts who are predominantly of Indian descent and enjoy a high-income status. The study found in both communities that Ramadan; a month of restraint, self-reflection, devotion, and worship had been turned into a month of indulgence and unhealthy eating. It was perceived that most Muslims squeeze a five-course meal in the few hours they can eat. The research further revealed that such individuals to be very meticulous of what type of food they consume when breaking their fast and would prefer oily fried foods to healthy food. This causes weight gain, health complications and sluggishness which stands in the way of worship. It was concluded that the majority gain weight due to their lifestyles. With regards to the implementation of moral formation, the study revealed self-discipline, leading by example and parents, educators and leaders playing an active role to be key in the formation of good morals. Additionally, the study found good moral formation can be achieved through habituation. Finally, the study found that the major constraints to moderate and healthy eating to be lack of self-discipline, the absence of virtue ethical education in Islamic institutions and finally Muslim leaders have prioritized the ḥalãl aspect of food and in the interim have forgotten to preach the importance of wholesome pure foods. The explanations offered in this study indicated the importance of the virtue of temperance in the fight against obesity and in the attainment of physical and spiritual wellbeing. This virtue which is a mean between two vices, namely self-indulgence and insensibility help in the journey towards a higher lifestyle and helps release all the dynamic forces that spiritually weigh down those in affluent as well as food insecure communities.

Magister Artium - MA / The aim of this study is to examine the community’s perceptions of the factors that hamper the empowerment of women in post apartheid South Africa, particularly, women in Belhar community in the Western Cape. Of special interest is the community’s perception of how different policies in post-apartheid South Africa have impacted on the socio-economic participation/discrimination of women’s fight against disempowerment. It will also provide recommendations on how best community based systems can be structured to improve women empowerment.

Magister Artium - MA / Overindulgence is widely regarded as a serious social problem in South Africa leading to obesity and associated medical and psychological issues. This study investigated overindulgence from the perspective of Islamic Studies. In the Muslim tradition, overindulgence is regarded as a vice which is contrasted with the virtue of temperance in the Qur’an and the Hadith. There is a long tradition of Muslim virtue ethics that draws from Greek philosophy but also from medieval Arabic sources. This study required an overview of such literature in order to profile contemporary discourse on the virtue of temperance against this historical background. Even though the virtue of temperance is praised, and the vice of overindulgence is frowned upon in Muslim communities, this does preclude overindulgence amongst Muslims, not even in the holy month of Ramadan. This may be understood in terms of the classic problem of moral formation where it is recognised that virtue cannot be taught. Knowledge of the good does not suffice for the realisation of the good. In terms of this study, this begs the question what kind of considerations play a role in motivating some Muslims to overindulge despite Muslim teachings in this regard, even amidst contexts of food insecurity. In this study, I investigated the perceptions of such considerations found within Muslim households associated with the Rylands and Belhar mosques. This required a Qualitative Approach where Semi-structured Interviews were conducted with around 10 households associated with each of these mosques. The local Imam in each case was asked to select ten such households of good moral standing. These interviews were recorded and analysed in order to describe the perceptions amongst Muslims of good moral standing with regards to the considerations that play a role in habits of over-indulgence. The study found several determinants of overindulgence within the selected Muslim households associated with the Rylands and Belhar mosques namely, food insecurity, spiritual apathy, emotional eating, conspicuous and hedonistic consumption as well as social environmental cues. However, food insecurity was exclusive to the Muslim community of Belhar who are distinctive from the inhabitants of Rylands in terms of social-economic status as well as race. This community is largely of Malay origin and is disadvantaged economically compared to their counterparts who are predominantly of Indian descent and enjoy a high-income status. The study found in both communities that Ramadan; a month of restraint, self-reflection, devotion, and worship had been turned into a month of indulgence and unhealthy eating. It was perceived that most Muslims squeeze a five-course meal in the few hours they can eat. The research further revealed that such individuals to be very meticulous of what type of food they consume when breaking their fast and would prefer oily fried foods to healthy food. This causes weight gain, health complications and sluggishness which stands in the way of worship. It was concluded that the majority gain weight due to their lifestyles. With regards to the implementation of moral formation, the study revealed self-discipline, leading by example and parents, educators and leaders playing an active role to be key in the formation of good morals. Additionally, the study found good moral formation can be achieved through habituation. Finally, the study found that the major constraints to moderate and healthy eating to be lack of self-discipline, the absence of virtue ethical education in Islamic institutions and finally Muslim leaders have prioritized the ḥalãl aspect of food and in the interim have forgotten to preach the importance of wholesome pure foods. The explanations offered in this study indicated the importance of the virtue of temperance in the fight against obesity and in the attainment of physical and spiritual wellbeing. This virtue which is a mean between two vices, namely self-indulgence and insensibility help in the journey towards a higher lifestyle and helps release all the dynamic forces that spiritually weigh down those in affluent as well as food insecure communities.

<p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> <p align="left">The aim of this study is to examine the community&rsquo / s perceptions of the factors that hamper the empowerment of women in post apartheid South Africa, particularly, women in Belhar community in the Western Cape. Of special interest is the community&rsquo / s perception of how different policies in post-apartheid South Africa have impacted on the socio-economic participation/discrimination of women&rsquo / s fight against disempowerment. It will also provide recommendations on how best community based systems can be structured to improve women empowerment.</p> </font></font></p>

<p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> <p align="left">The aim of this study is to examine the community&rsquo / s perceptions of the factors that hamper the empowerment of women in post apartheid South Africa, particularly, women in Belhar community in the Western Cape. Of special interest is the community&rsquo / s perception of how different policies in post-apartheid South Africa have impacted on the socio-economic participation/discrimination of women&rsquo / s fight against disempowerment. It will also provide recommendations on how best community based systems can be structured to improve women empowerment.</p> </font></font></p>

This minithesis provides an ethnographic account of the life world of older people in the community of Belhar in the Cape Peninsula, which was historically categorised as a &lsquo / coloured&rsquo / community during the implementation of the Group Areas Act. By content analysing newspaper articles published in the early 1980s and specifically during the implementation of the Group Areas Act I found that many of the residents reported that they lived in fear of their lives, in what was once known as a &lsquo / prestige suburb&rsquo / . At the present time the community of Belhar is an intensely gang-infested area. From preliminary research done by myself at a senior citizen centre in Belhar, the high incidence of violence was a recurring theme throughout discussions with older people. In fact when I posed the question Why do you come to the centre five days a week? to a group of older people they answered without hesitation It is unsafe for an older person to be alone during the day. Answers like these to many of the questions that I posed would almost always be followed with Things were better then. It also was apparent that the older people in this community remember (or perhaps reconstruct) the past in the context of their present living situation. This became the leading theme in my study and is also the background against which I had formulated my research questions. However this study not only focused on the impact of the high incidence of violence on the community of older people but also essentially looked at elderly residents&rsquo / everyday lived experiences in Belhar. The research sample consisted of twenty elderly residents and four key informants. The latter provided mainly infrastructural data on the community. Primary data was collected by using ethnographic techniques of inquiry which included participant observation and unstructured interviews. Results revealed that older people occupy a liminal space both in the community and in their households. I also found that the elderly stroke victim is twice silenced and marginalized due to the constraints brought on by their chronic illness and their status as an older person in the community.

For many decades, the World Health Organisation had highlighted the growing importance of chronic non-communicable diseases in developed and developing countries, with an increase in lifestyle-related diseases. Physical inactivity has been identified as one of the risk factors, in addition to other leading risk factors like diet, and the use of tobacco and alcohol, contributing to the occurrence of non-communicable diseases like cardiovascular diseases, cancers, obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Based on the researcher's observations while living in Belhar community for more then ten years, it was hypothesized that the level of physical inactivity among adolescents could become a public health problem in the future if not addressed immediately.