Of the estimated 6 000 African independent churches in Africa, approximately 3 000 are to be found in Southern Africa. Most of these are in the Republic of South Africa, where the history of the independent church movement goes back nearly a hundred years. The greatest concentration of independent churches in South Africa is to be found in the urban complexes round the cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria in the Southern Transvaal. Soweto, the complex of townships to the south-west of Johannesburg which houses about one million people, has about 900 of these independent churches. This study deals with independent churches in Soweto, and their relationship to their urban environment.

Submitted to the Faculty of Arts in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Psychology at the University of Zululand, 1994. / The need for a psychology that addresses problems of all racial groups in South Africa has long been documented. Studies have indicated that modern health care services are inadequate and not accessible to all population groups in this country. The needs and problems in South Africa are too complicated to be treated by Western therapies alone. What seem to have been a viable alter¬native are the services rendered to Blacks by traditional doctors, diviners, faith healers and the African Independent Churches. The aim of this study was an exploratory psychological investigation into the nature of helping human relations in an African Independent Church. A sample of 18 respondents was randomly selected from members of the St. John's Apostolic Faith Mission Church, Harrismith. The phenomenological research methodology was used to elicit descriptions from the subjects regarding their experiences and meaning of being members of that particular church. The descriptions of the respondents were tape recorded, transcribed and dissected into natural meaning units which were blocked into themes. The natural meaning units and the themes of each subject were synthesised into a general concise description in psychological language. This descriptive statement, which was referred to as situated structure, disclosed the unique and es¬sential meaning the phenomenon had for each individual. Those themes that were expressed and shared by the majority of the sub¬jects were grouped into a general structure of six categories, namely, spiritual helping, prayer healing, holy water, cohesive-ness, existential assistance and catharsis. The researcher validated the descriptions by going back to respondents and asking them whether his synthesis accurately revealed their experiences. Each respondent commented on the general structure by stating on a subjective eleven point scale (0-10) the degree to which the general structure reflected his/her experiences. The respondents' ratings indicated that the general structure was a fairly accurate reflection of their experiences as members of this particular church. There was sig¬nificant agreement among the eighteen respondents in ranking the six categories. This means that there was significant agreement¬about what the subj ects generally experienced as members of the St. John's Apostolic Faith Mission Church and about their ex¬periences . In view of literature review of other African Independent Churches the researcher could generalize that human helping rela¬tions in the African Independent Churches exist essentially in the aforementioned six main forms. It was recommended that similar research be conducted in other African Independent Churches such as the ZCC, Church of Nazarites and the Mahon Mission. The practices of the AIC's could be in¬cluded in the curricula of the training of mental health care workers, clients could benefit from cross referrals between West¬ern practitioners and the healers of the African Independent Churches.

Part one establishes the problematic of this primarily historical and theoretical work on indigenous churches in South Africa. The existing literature is surveyed, explanatory themes isolated and a critique of the dominant functionalist framework offered. A different theoretical framework - historical materialism - is proposed, in order to bring new insights into the explanation of indigenous churches. A periodisation of the South African social formation, and three corresponding forms of indigenous churches is proposed. Part two considers each of these in a schematic form. It is hypothesized that Ethiopian churches arose at the turn of the century in the Transvaal and Eastern Cape amongst the emerging African petit-bourgeoisie. They were the religious response to unequal incorporation in the developing capitalist social formation. An early form of Zionism, Zion City Churches, arose between the two World Wars, in a period of intense resistance to proletarianization. In each region they were shaped by the particular conditions and conflicts. An attempt is made to demonstrate that, in contrast, Zionist-Apostolics arose after World War II as a church of the black working class. Instead of explaining them in terms of acculturation, it is hypothesized that their healing form can be understood as an expression and a protest of the alienation of the black working class. As a religious-cultural innovation they succeed in subverting missionary hegemony and gaining control over the means of salvation, and in this way, of their own lives. Part three attempts to evaluate the contribution of a historical materialist analysis to understanding religion, and to isolate directions for future research.

Thesis (M.A.)--George Mason University, 2008. / Vita: p. 203. Thesis director: Benedict Carton. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed July 3, 2008'). Includes bibliographical references (p. 195-202). Also issued in print.

AFRIKAANS: Die waardering van die Afrika-onafhanklike kerke het gedurende die twintigste eeu grootliks verander, vanaf negatief tot positief. Die meer positiewe waardering hang saam met 'n ruimer en meer akkommoderende ekklesiologiese beeld waartoe gedurende die afgelope nagenoeg veertig jaar in die Sendingwetenskap gekom is. Teologiese opleiding as 'n ondememing onder die AOK het in die verlede gemengde sukses behaal. Westerse kerke het geneig om hulle eie model na die AOK oor te plant. Daar was min bereidheid om in terme van inheemse behoeftes en strukturele tradisies te dink. Aan die kant van die AOK was daar weer agterdog oor die motiewe van Westerse kerke en is sodanige opleidings relatief swak ondersteun. Vanuit Bybelse en historiese gegewens wil hierdie proefskrif 'n meer geloofwaardige opleidingsbenadering aanbied wat ook kerkopbou in die hand sal werk. Heling speel 'n sleutelrol in feitlik al die AOK en skakel met die sogenaamde profeetamp, 'n unieke funksie of bediening in die AOK. Die proefskrif stel 'n geïntegreerde of ekumeniese-genesingsopleidingsmodel voor om die AOK se profete in teologiese opleiding te betrek. Dit kom daarop neer dat integrasie bewerk moet word tussen tradisionele benadering, Westerse medies-biologiese metodes, sowel as Bybelse pastorale bedieningsmetodes. Daar moet vir 'n kragontmoetende benadering en vertrekpunt ruimte gemaak word, maar dit moet verder begelei word na 'n waarheidsontmoeting met die groot Waarheid wat 'n persoonlike ontmoeting is. By die leraars word 'n multidimensionele ekumeniese kerkopboumodel voorgestel wat kerugma, koinonia en diakonia sinkronies en diakronies benut. Aanduidings in die praktyk (aan die hand van diakonia en koinonia as assesseringskriteria) was dat derglike opleiding 'n transformasieproses begin het wat tot groter balans kan lei. Van die profete wat oorspronklik bloot diakonies te werk gegaan het, het tot 'n verchristelikte ubuntu of koinonia beweeg. Die leraars is weer kruisbestuif deur meer koinoniale insigte wat onder andere uitmond in diakoniese uitkomste. Ook die Westerse kerke of sendende kerke moet tot groter balans in eie denke en benadering kom. Eensydige beklemtonings, soos op die kerugma, kerkplanting, persoonlike vroomheid of geloofservarings of aan die ander kant op diakonia, moet plek maak vir 'n meer gebalanseerde en holistiese benadering. Sommige opleidingsinstitute is goeie evangelisasiekatalisators maar, gaan gebrek om aan ware klinies-pastorale insigte. Eksegeties-hermeneutiese insigte word seIde kontekstualiserend gekommunikeer. Materiaal is dikwels nog eensydig sinkronies of diakronies en kultuurontkennend. Indien die Westerse opleiding enigsins relevant wil wees, sal hulle meer van koinonia moet maak as die verlore dimensie in Westerse kerklike lewe, maar 'n lewende werklikheid in die AOK. Sonder die element van koinonia wat kontekstualisering verseker en die dualismes van teorie en praktyk, ekstraksie en abstraksie deurbreek, sal die Westerse instansies irrelevant in teologiese opleiding van die AOK bly. Aan die ander kant sal die Westerse instansies moet waak teen 'n ooroptimistiese siening van die AOK en byvoorbeeld redeneer dat alle kerke op een of ander manier sinkretisties is en dat die AOK toegelaat moet word om hulle eie gang te gaan. Dit is nie alleen histories onrealisties nie, maar ontken ook die onderlinge verbondenheid en verantwoordelikheid van die een, heilige, algemene en Christelike kerk. ENGLISH: Appraisal of the African indigenous/independent/initiated churches (AIC's) changed quite markedly during the twentieth century: from negative (at the beginning of the century) to positive (at the end thereof). The more positive judgement followed a change during the past forty years of Missiological understanding of the essence and role of church. Theological training during the past fifty years of the leaders of the AIC's had mixed success. Western churches tended to transplant their own model to the AlC's and did not really try to accommodate indigenous needs or structural traditions. On the other hand the AlC's tended to be suspicious of the motives of Western churches. Therefore they tried to be self-sufficient in training. This dissertation aimed to develop a more credible and viable approach in such training from Biblical and historical perspectives. Another aim was to make such training subservient of the ideal of developing of the AIC's as church. Healing plays a key role in the AlC's with the so-called prophetical office as a unique function and ministry. The dissertation proposes an integrated or ecumenical healing model to address the training needs of the prophets. The model aims to integrate Western medical-biological methods, traditional African healing and Biblical-ministerial principles. A ministry of confronting the powers (as accepted in many AlC's) must be transformed toward meeting the Truth and focused toward building a personal relationship between the ill member and his/her Saviour linked with the koinonia of the faith community. In the case of the ministers a multidimensional, ecumenical church development model is proposed which aims to realise kerygma, koinonia and diaconia in a synchronical and dia¬chronical manner. Preliminary indications from such training (done as part of this research) were that a transformation process was started which promised inter alia greater balance between diaconia and koinonia. Prophets, who formerly operated solely in the diaconial sphere of healing, began to show greater appreciation of the importance of koinonia (albeit a Christianised ubuntu). The ministers began to understand that true koinonia couldn't be separated from diaconia, since it follows from the faith relationship with God. On the other hand it became clear that Western churches also need some re-examination of their own traditions, theological presuppositions, ideas and missiological strategies. No church can afford to focus on one or two aspects in training, like kerygma, church planting, personal piety or experiential faith, or diaconia on the other hand. What is needed is a balanced, holistic view and approach. Many places of training are excellent catalysts of evangelism, but do not really succeed in training for the healing ministry, because e.g. clinical input is precluded due to a strict pietistic understanding of the ministry. Exegesis and hermeneutical skills are not really contextualised and therefore tend to remain an ethereal ideal. Training material suffer either from synchronical or diachronical one-sidedness, or cultural/contextual ignorance. If Western churches' or training institutes' ideal is relevancy in the training of the AlC's, much more must be made of koinonia - the lost dimension in Western Christianity, but a living reality in the AIC's. Without the element of koinonia contextualisation will be nothing but an idle dream, because it facilitates the bridging of dualisms (such as theory and practice, extrac¬tion and abstraction etc), which proofed to be the undoing of many training enterprises in Africa. On the other hand Western churches and agencies must guard against an over-optimistic view of the AlC phenomenon. In many instances such a view is justified with the argument that all churches are or have been syncretistic in one way or another. Therefore the AIC's must be left to their own resources to develop a true African Christianity and ecclesiastical model. However, such argument is not historical realistic and denies the mutuality, interdependency and mutual responsibility of the one, holy, universal and Christian church. / Thesis (DD (Science of Religion and Missiology))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Science of Religion and Missiology / unrestricted

Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Thesis (PhD (Science of Religion))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Science of Religion and Missiology / unrestricted

In this dissertation I shall give a brief historical survey of Black Theology and the African Independent Churches (AI Cs). The study focuses mainly to the developments of the two trends in South Africa. This was done after realising that Black Theologians often ignored the history of Black people, including that of the AI Cs which has in the end stymied their efforts. The immediate effects were negative in that little results were produced. ATCs and Black Theology have interesting histories which complement each another. I will present the current state of affairs and give some guidelines on how the future debate can be carried out. The two theological trends have weaknesses and strengths which are clearly identifiable. In chapter four I give guidelines for future debates and possible new developments. This study is also carried out to expand the scope of dialogue and constructive debate among the two. / Missiology / M. Th. (Missiology)

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1978.

This dissertation looks into the ministries of Isaiah Shembe and Emmanuel Milingo to examine their contributions to African Christianity. It also seeks to investigate their endeavours at 'affirming African identity in the process of inculturating Christianity into the African culture. Their contexts are, respectively, South Africa and Zambia. The dissertation also seeks to find a model that could help the mainline churches refer to in the quest of assuming a true African church that addresses the questions of Africans within their world view. The first chapter serves as an introduction to the study. The second and third chapters look into the profile of both Shembe and Milingo and also examine the context that influences their ministries. They also bring to the fore the neglect that has set in due to missionary teaching eventually leading to the current problems besetting the mainline churches owing to ignoring the African world view. The chapters four and five discuss the healing ministries of the two leaders and the patterns of inculturation emerging from their ministries. These chapters show how healing forms an integral part of the African society and cannot be ignored, and the essence of inculturation in the African church as demonstrated by Shembe and Milingo. The final chapter discusses a model of the church that emerges from Shembe and Milingo' s ministries which can serve as something the main line churches can learn from in order to affirm their ministries. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1999.

In this study I investigate the narratives of near-death experiences in the Nazarite Church as one way in which this community grapples with the question of death and the after-life. However, I am particularly interested in the manner in which Nazarite members deploy these experiences to define individual and collective identities. I argue that in the Nazarite Church the significance of near-death experiences is neither rooted in the future nor in the past, but it is something of the here and now. As Biesele states, " Old stories are powerful not because they come from the past, but because they are told in the present" (1999: 167). Nazarite members are not only regarded by many as backward, uneducated, and unemployed rural people, they are also accused of worshipping another human being like themselves, Shembe. For the Nazarites then near-death narratives are important because they serve as proof that Shembe is not just an ordinary human being, he is the one sent from above. Many near-death experiencers testify that they have met Shembe on their spiritual journeys. While this does give the Nazarites a sense of what may happen to them when they die, it is more important as a tool for confirming or defending their faith against the people who criticise and look down upon them and their church. However, Nazarite members, especially those who have had near-death experiences, also use these experiences to imagine individual identities. Since the church has grown rapidly in the past decades, there has been a growing need to define the self in relation to the group. Newcomers (there are many of them) are regarded as ignorant of the ways of the church and are sometimes called by pejorative names like Qhawe, (Braveman) and Khethankosi (Converts). The near-death experience provides those 'newcomers' who have experienced it with a means to assert their agency in that they have been to the other world and have witnessed what many only hear about. Even for those who were already members of the church when they had the experience, this make them important. They have seen 'home'. Their stories are recorded and disseminated in the church, thus becoming part of the church's cultural capital. Sometimes ministers and preachers invite those who have had near-death experiences to come and share their stories in the Temples they oversee. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.