In 1994 South Africa celebrated the election of a new democratic government. This came with the abolition of the Group Areas Act 36of1966, which controlled the movement of black people from rural areas to urban areas. The repealing of this act led to the rapid movement of people from rural areas all over Southern Africa to the cities and towns in search for a better life. In turn this led to rapid urbanization and the growth of informal settlements' also known as squatter camps. These communities are characterized by poverty and lack of basic necessities such as houses, water and employment. The church was caught unaware by the need to minister to these communities that need more than the gospel that satisfies spiritual poverty but also the satisfaction of material poverty. This exposed the need for a model of ministry that will be holistic. This study shares a model of ministry that has been used by a Methodist congregation in an informal settlement community called Ivory Park in Midrand. This church uses a model of ministry that propagates the gospel both through preaching and community development. / Religious Studies & Arabic / M. Th. (Missiology)

A Freedom Charter statement regarding land is highlighted as follows: “The land shall be shared among those who work it, demands a redistribution of the land and state assistance for the peasantry, as well as the abolition of any restrictions on movements of people, access to land, and stock holdings.” The quest for inclusive and participatory governance enshrined in the South Africa’s Land Reform Programme resonates with efforts to develop and strengthen an active and critical rights based citizenship. The need to boost local community awareness of land reform challenges necessitates continuous evaluations of the lived realities of poor communities through participatory and collaborative methodologies in order to articulate their socio-economic problems. Land is regarded as a resource that gives people access to certain basic needs necessary for them to lead a dignified life. This research explores the participation of the Catholic Church on land reform programmes in South Africa between 1994 and 2014. It also looks at the Catholic Church’s land ownership policy and how it has been using its land in two decades of democracy (1994-2014). This research further explores the Catholic vision for land reform in South Africa. It also highlights some key theological criteria which may assist to achieve the intended objectives. In the light of this reality, the research shows that there is lack of meaningful progress in enabling those who are impoverished to assert their right to own land. Even the majority that have benefited from various land reform programmes and have become land owners have not received sufficient support to enable them to use and care for the land in such a way that benefits them. This leads to an unproductive and demeaning lifestyle. More emphasis needs to be placed on proper financial support from the government. Further emphasis needs to be placed on training for skills development as a condition for receiving Church assistance on the part of the beneficiaries. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M. Th. (Church History)

In 1994 South Africa celebrated the election of a new democratic government. This came with the abolition of the Group Areas Act 36of1966, which controlled the movement of black people from rural areas to urban areas. The repealing of this act led to the rapid movement of people from rural areas all over Southern Africa to the cities and towns in search for a better life. In turn this led to rapid urbanization and the growth of informal settlements' also known as squatter camps. These communities are characterized by poverty and lack of basic necessities such as houses, water and employment. The church was caught unaware by the need to minister to these communities that need more than the gospel that satisfies spiritual poverty but also the satisfaction of material poverty. This exposed the need for a model of ministry that will be holistic. This study shares a model of ministry that has been used by a Methodist congregation in an informal settlement community called Ivory Park in Midrand. This church uses a model of ministry that propagates the gospel both through preaching and community development. / Religious Studies and Arabic / M. Th. (Missiology)

Text in English / Since its inception in 1833 the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in South Africa has been a missionary church and has always had its own missionary work. It started to organise the Christianization, Evangelization and Westernization endeavours to take place inside the territories of South Africa. The Evangelical Presbyterian Church Missionaries founded, financed, maintained, controlled and administered their educational endeavours without any moral or financial support from the Government. The main purpose of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church Missionaries in founding and supporting schools has been to use education as an auxiliary to the evangelization of the indigenous people of South Africa. Elementary schools served as instruments of direct evangelization rather than secular education. Pupils were taught the 3 R's, namely, reading, writing and arithmetic. Education was a useful tool that enabled the converts to read the Bible and other religious material on their own and preferably in their own language. Converts who demonstrated the ability to read, write and do simple arithmetic were trained to become missionaries' helpers. As these earliest converts became proficient and competent, they were posted out into the interior with the instructions to start new church centres and schools. Although the teaching which took place inside these schools was not of high quality, it was definitely better than nothing. The Evangelical Presbyterian Church Missionaries together with missionaries of other denominations provided virtually all the education which was available for the Blacks in South Africa. Through missionary endeavours the South African Government have realized that Western education and civilization has been important forces which helped the indigenous people to advance individually and collectively in the social, political and economic fields. Western technology and culture successfully won the indigenous people of South Africa to Western civilization. The acceptance of Christianity and the introduction of the White man's rule in the interior of South Africa effectively stopped the inter-tribal wars. The missionaries have made a noteworthy contribution to the education of the indigenous people of South Africa. They empowered the Blacks to play a worthy part side by side with members of other races (Whites, Coloureds and Indians) in the development of the country they shared. / Educational Studies / D.Ed. (History of Education)

In 1977 the Annual Conference of the Methodist Church of South Africa (MCSA) decided to discontinue its practice of sending messages of goodwill to the Heads of State of the Southern African region (including Transkei). The Prime Minister ofTranskei interpreted this resolution as implying the non-recognition ofTranskeian political independence, obtained from the Republic of South Africa in 1976, and expressed his intention to ban the MCSA in Transkei and replace it by the Methodist Church of Transkei (MCT) The thesis presents, in narrative form (Chapter 2), a detailed description of the process of the schism ( 12 January 1978 to 2 June 1978). Chapter 3 analyses the political and ecclesial context of the schism comprehensively by examining three main issues: the Methodist tradition in the Eastern Cape and Transkei, the Methodist tradition of pledging loyalty to the Head of State and the emergence of Transkei as a geo-political state. Chapter 4 focuses on the reaction of the Transkeian Methodists to the dispute between the Transkeian Government and the MCSA. The loyalties which influenced their reaction are identified and analysed. In this study the whole process of the schism is seen as an interplay between and clash of different loyalties. Chapter 5 reviews the different models and typologies used to explain and interpret the African Independent/Initiated Church movement. The aim is to identify the elements in these models which are relevant for an understanding of this schism. Chapter 6 concludes the study by considering five areas of missiological importance highlighted by the 1978 Methodist schism in Transkei, namely: ( 1) the research questions, (2) mission and unity, (3) mission and ethnic issues, (4) prophetic mission, and (5) prophetic ambivalence. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D.Th. (Missiology)

This research undertook to establish how the YMG in KWT circuit become fruitfully involved in the prevention of HIV and AIDS. It is argued here that the YMG is strategically situated in the church to address issues in the Xhosa-Christian culture that exacerbate the spread of HIV. These include issues like maleness and gender inequality, safer sex practices and the place of condoms and the promotion of sex ethics. The YMG is historically a centre for peer education, resilience in suffering, and morale building. It was the YMG that enabled the church to stand and strategise against apartheid. It is therefore a suitable space for Aids debate, education, and strategising on prevention methods. The YMG is also a well-to-do forum for airing the voices of the Xhosa Christian men on AIDS issues. It is, as well, a good support forum for addressing treatment and bereavement in an allempt to demythologise the Aids disease. However, it is the submission of this research that the YMG needs certain focusing in order to become fruitfully involved in prevention efforts. It is therefore recommended that the age disparity within the study circles of the YMG be resolved in order to create openness and comradeship. The membership of YMG at the present stretches from 17 years to 70 years. Members of YMG with this age disparity cannot talk freely on sexuality and HIV unless the groupings are systematised. There is also the need to bring on board such church leaders in the circuit so as to address morality and sexuality within the Methodist doctrinal perspective. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

This thesis is about the Lutheran Churches' response to the forced removals which took place between 1968 and 1984 in Western Transvaal. Bills aimed at expropriating land from African people were passed through parliament from 1913 to 1984. These apartheid laws culminated in the fonnation of Bantustans where people of different nationalities among blacks were moved to. Among the Tswanas four villages in the Western Transvaal viz. Matlwang, Ga-Maloka, Botshabelo and Mogopa were moved between 1968 and 1984. The Lutheran Churches which were working in the four villages did not do much to help their members in time great need and distress. The villagers interviewed unanymously agreed that the Lutheran churches were silent during the time of the forced removals. The Lutheran churches in the world have a history of silence with regard to governments' unjust policies towards the people. Theologians and church leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (ELCSA) and its supporting mission society, the Rermannsburg Mission Society (HMS), the Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (LCSA) and its supporting mission society, the Lutheran Church Mission, agree that the doctrine of the Two Kingdoms was not responsible for the silence of the Lutheran Churches in South Africa. The Lutheran Churches have an opportunity to make up for their past mistakes by initiating and joining existing projects aimed at helping the marginalised communities of South Africa. Among other pressing needs in South Africa besides the preaching of the gospel one can count landlessness, unemployment, homelessness, poverty, hunger, diseases like HIV/AIDS, and counselling of the abused individuals in both in the urban and the rural areas to which those who were forcefully removed are returning. This work is presented to churches in general and to the Lutheran Churches in particular so that they can preach the gospel of Jesus Christ in a wholistic rather than a narrow way. Jesus was concerned about the poor, the captives, the blind, the sinners, the rulers and the oppressed. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1999.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / Bibliography / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study investigates if and how the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) uses its websites to create a public sphere. Since the end of apartheid this church and its media had to adapt to the changing environment in South Africa, particularly in its increasing use of the new media to involve believers and non-believers. Because of the internet’s potential to connect people from all over the world and its interactivity, scholars assert that the internet can create a public sphere. Habermas’ idea of the public sphere, a conceptual space where critical public discourse takes place and anyone can participate, forms the theoretical underpinning for this study. This theory, however, is slightly adapted by arguing that conflict – within bounds – is also part of the communication process within the public sphere. This study focuses on seven active websites of the DRC in order to examine its relation to public theology from a critical cultural perspective. The ideals of public theology closely relates to that of the public sphere. These ideals are a public debate on issues relating to the common good, which are discussed from a religious stance. A central view is that regulation can hinder the forming of a public sphere. Thus the nature and level of regulation on the church’s websites are examined. The nature of interaction between users and content on websites is also studied. This study combines qualitative and quantitative methods, including semi structured interviews, questionnaires, content analysis and systematic observation. The study found that Kerkbode’s Facebookpage facilitates a lively forum for debate on issues that advances the public sphere. The Facebookpage of the DRC has the potential to create such debates. On both these websites and Kerkbode-online and NG Kerk-online, regulation on midlevel curbs this potential. Other obstacles for creating a public sphere that was identified on the DRC’s websites, were personal insults, too narrow focus on internal church affairs and low participation in topics that could advance the public sphere. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie ondersoek die vraag of die NG Kerk se webwerwe dit regkry om ʼn publieke sfeer te skep. Sedert die einde van apartheid het die kerk en sy media hom op verskeie maniere in die veranderende Suid-Afrika aangepas, onder meer deur die toenemende gebruik van nuwe media om gelowiges en nie-gelowiges te betrek. As gevolg van die internet se vermoë om mense van regoor die wêreld te verbind en die interaktiewe aard van die medium, meen kenners dat die internet ʼn publieke sfeer kan skep. Habermas se idee van ʼn publieke sfeer, wat ʼn konseptuele ruimte is waar kritiese, openbare diskoers gevoer word wat vir enigeen toeganklik is, vorm die onderbou van hierdie studie. Dié teorie word hier aangepas deur aan te voer dat konflik en meningsverskil – binne perke – ook deel van kommunikasieprosesse binne die publieke sfeer is. Hierdie studie fokus op die sewe aktiewe webwerwe van die NG Kerk om hul verbintenis tot publieke teologie binne ʼn krities-kulturele paradigma te ondersoek. Die ideale van publieke teologie hang nou saam met dié van die publieke sfeer, naamlik ʼn openbare gesprek oor sake van openbare belang wat vanuit godsdienstige oortuigings gevoer word. ʼn Sentrale vertrekpunt van die studie is dat ʼn ideale publieke sfeer deur regulering aan bande gelê kan word. Dus word die aard en vlak van regulering op die kerk se webwerwe ook nagevors. Die tipe interaksie tussen gebruikers en die inhoud van die webwerwe is ook bestudeer. Die studie gebruik ʼn kombinasie van kwalitatiewe en kwantitatiewe metodes, insluitend semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude, vraelyste, inhoudsanalise en sistematiese observasie. Die studie het bevind dat Kerkbode se Facebookblad ʼn lewendige forum bied vir debat oor sake wat die publieke sfeer bevorder. Ook die NG Kerk se Facebookblad het die potensiaal om sulke debatte te skep. Op albei hierdie webwerwe, asook Kerkbode-aanlyn en NG Kerk-aanlyn, het regulering op mesovlak dié potensiaal egter ingeperk. Ander hindernisse vir die skep van ʼn ideale publieke sfeer wat op die NG Kerk se webwerwe geïdentifiseer is, is beledigings, ʼn te noue fokus op interne kerksake en lae deelname aan debatte oor sake wat die publieke sfeer kan bevorder.

Text in English / Since its inception in 1833 the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in South Africa has been a missionary church and has always had its own missionary work. It started to organise the Christianization, Evangelization and Westernization endeavours to take place inside the territories of South Africa. The Evangelical Presbyterian Church Missionaries founded, financed, maintained, controlled and administered their educational endeavours without any moral or financial support from the Government. The main purpose of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church Missionaries in founding and supporting schools has been to use education as an auxiliary to the evangelization of the indigenous people of South Africa. Elementary schools served as instruments of direct evangelization rather than secular education. Pupils were taught the 3 R's, namely, reading, writing and arithmetic. Education was a useful tool that enabled the converts to read the Bible and other religious material on their own and preferably in their own language. Converts who demonstrated the ability to read, write and do simple arithmetic were trained to become missionaries' helpers. As these earliest converts became proficient and competent, they were posted out into the interior with the instructions to start new church centres and schools. Although the teaching which took place inside these schools was not of high quality, it was definitely better than nothing. The Evangelical Presbyterian Church Missionaries together with missionaries of other denominations provided virtually all the education which was available for the Blacks in South Africa. Through missionary endeavours the South African Government have realized that Western education and civilization has been important forces which helped the indigenous people to advance individually and collectively in the social, political and economic fields. Western technology and culture successfully won the indigenous people of South Africa to Western civilization. The acceptance of Christianity and the introduction of the White man's rule in the interior of South Africa effectively stopped the inter-tribal wars. The missionaries have made a noteworthy contribution to the education of the indigenous people of South Africa. They empowered the Blacks to play a worthy part side by side with members of other races (Whites, Coloureds and Indians) in the development of the country they shared. / Educational Studies / D.Ed. (History of Education)

In 1977 the Annual Conference of the Methodist Church of South Africa (MCSA) decided to discontinue its practice of sending messages of goodwill to the Heads of State of the Southern African region (including Transkei). The Prime Minister ofTranskei interpreted this resolution as implying the non-recognition ofTranskeian political independence, obtained from the Republic of South Africa in 1976, and expressed his intention to ban the MCSA in Transkei and replace it by the Methodist Church of Transkei (MCT) The thesis presents, in narrative form (Chapter 2), a detailed description of the process of the schism ( 12 January 1978 to 2 June 1978). Chapter 3 analyses the political and ecclesial context of the schism comprehensively by examining three main issues: the Methodist tradition in the Eastern Cape and Transkei, the Methodist tradition of pledging loyalty to the Head of State and the emergence of Transkei as a geo-political state. Chapter 4 focuses on the reaction of the Transkeian Methodists to the dispute between the Transkeian Government and the MCSA. The loyalties which influenced their reaction are identified and analysed. In this study the whole process of the schism is seen as an interplay between and clash of different loyalties. Chapter 5 reviews the different models and typologies used to explain and interpret the African Independent/Initiated Church movement. The aim is to identify the elements in these models which are relevant for an understanding of this schism. Chapter 6 concludes the study by considering five areas of missiological importance highlighted by the 1978 Methodist schism in Transkei, namely: ( 1) the research questions, (2) mission and unity, (3) mission and ethnic issues, (4) prophetic mission, and (5) prophetic ambivalence. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D.Th. (Missiology)