The Kairos Document ('KD' or 'Document') burst onto the socio-political and ecclesiastical scene in South Africa in 1985, presenting to churches, communities-of-faith and individuals the challenge of a decisive moment in the history of Christian opposition to Apartheid. The nature and extent of reactions and responses to the document exceeded the authors wildest dreams and most optimistic of expectations. This study traces the contours and discerns the patterns of reactions against and resonances with the Document in South Africa and within the international ecumenical community. The main focus of this research, however, is on the propensity and capacity of the institutionalised churches - and in particular the English-speaking churches in South Africa - to respond positively and constructively to a prophetic challenge, such that which emanated from the KD and the subsequent Kairos movement. One of the English-speaking churches, the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA), is singled out in this thesis and subjected to an extended examination and analysis, relative to its response to the challenge of the Document. The main reason for this special reference to the UCCSA is that this church denomination had embarked on a major process of ecclesiastical and denominational transformation in its response to the challenge of Kairos. It is 'upon this process of transformation within the UCCSA that I seek to critically reflect and to draw some learnings from the prophetic legacy of the Document. The UCCSA also happens to be the church denomination in which I have been nurtured in Christian faith, practice and ministry. The work, worship and witness of this church is therefore the primary frame of reference and ecclesiastical context in which my own prophetic consciousness has been awakened and shaped. I am, as such, acutely aware that my research on the responses to the KD by the UCCSA is being undertaken from the perspectives of an insider and that my passion for and commitment to the prophetic role of the Church makes me no neutral observer. It is my contention, however, that the above factors neither compromise nor diminish the academic credibility and ecumenical significance of this study. On the contrary, my strategic positioning within the UCCSA enables me to undertake such research from a privileged vantage point of first-hand experience, readily accessible data and greater understanding which derives from such close proximity. Needless to say, I shall endeavour to be as rigorous and critical as possible in my appraisal of the UCCSA's response which, in the final analysis, is an integral part of my overall critique of the nature of the churches' responses to the prophetic challenge of the KD. / Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1998.

This study intersects the disciplines of gender and development, feminist studies, and women’s theology. It is located within the socio-economic and political context of the region of Vulindlela, on the outskirts of Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Its subjects are poor and marginalised indigenous African women of faith who live in the area and attend the local Anglican churches. Engaging the theoretical debates of these three areas of gender studies, it argues that indigenous African women live by subjugated survival theologies. These working theologies are forged within a context of struggle for literal survival and give expression to the voices of millions of women in South Africa. Survival, it contends, intersects faith, feminisms, and development. Two potential locations of survival theologies of poor and marginalised women are identified in the study: the Mothers’ Union (MU), the Anglican women’s prayer union which is a part of the indigenous manyano movement, and a contextual Bible study group of women from the area. In the MU, an established site of women’s theology, rituals such as the wearing of the church uniform, extempore praying and preaching, and fundraising are practices which reveal aspects of subjugated survival theologies. In the contextual Bible study group, a new social site was established through the efforts of the author, in order to create a place for the safe articulation of these theologies. This aspect of the study explored the extent to which collaborative work amongst women across race and class is possible and the ways in which it furthers the liberative agenda of the women’s project. Employing postmodern notions of identity, subjectivity, agency, and historicised local knowledges, this study argues that survival faith needs to shape the way feminist paradigms understand notions of liberation, activism, and solidarity. It contends that these subjugated survival theologies pose a challenge to the academy and to the practice of the church because they are, in part, a resistance discourse which has not been recognised. The voice and agency of poor and marginalised women of Vulindlela is highlighted throughout and, the study argues, it is these voices that have been neglected in the women’s project. It is the subjugated knowledges of poor and marginalised women of faith that have to be recognised and recovered, if the women’s project is to truly reflect all South African women. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2000.

This thesis conducts postcolonial readings of 1 Kings 21:1-29 within the context of the struggle for land in Zimbabwe. It is an attempt to investigate the historical and sociological contexts of Zimbabwe and Ancient Israel. The thesis traces the land issue trajectory across both the colonial and post-colonial terrain of Zimbabwe. In the process, this thesis identifies four key moments which it considers as major in the struggle for land in Zimbabwe, which are: the historical moment of the colonization of Zimbabwe; the moment of the Second War of Liberation; the moment of the independent Zimbabwe; and the moment of the current land invasions and land grabbing in Zimbabwe. The thesis has made an attempt to explain the significance of land in Ancient Israel, in an endeavour to understand why Naboth the Jezreelite would not easily succumb to Ahab`s demand for his family land. In this way the Naboth story is located within its socio-historical context. It has also demonstrated that the advent of the monarchy introduced a tributary socio-economic system which replaced the egalitarian social order. In addition, this dissertation has shown that the monarchy introduced land expropriation in Israel and Judah, which was a departure from the inalienability of land, a concept very popular with pre-monarchic Israel and Judah. The issues of the abuse of power and the injustice that was prevalent under both the united as well as the divided monarchies were also discussed At the end, the thesis has attempted to bring the context of the struggle for land in Zimbabwe in dialogue, contrapuntally with the context of the confrontation over land between Ahab and Naboth the Jezreelite, that is, allowing both similarities and differences to manifest or emerge in this dialogue, so that a complete interpretation of the text may be achieved by allowing the context and the text to interrogate and investigate each other. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1996.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Ashland Theological Seminary, 2008. / Abstract . Includes project proposal. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 158-159, 181-189).

Revision of thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sheffield, 1991. / Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Thesis (Ph. D. in Religion)--Vanderbilt University, May 2006. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-03T12:19:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Adriana Thome.pdf: 1790974 bytes, checksum: b3c0f661d41bdd584fa95ee91c447dc4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-10-01 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This study discuss the relationship between the processo of liberation of thought by José Comblin and Popular Education, from the antropology perspective and freedom social of human being as singular vocation of each subject as well as of implication of this notion of liberty including the responsibility to other as fundamental dimension to engagement in the struggle for transforming society. By means of bibliography research, analysis of elements that makes interface between notion of freedom of liberty and popular education in concept of Comblin. Works with the hypothesis of the Anthropological element and social in the perspective of freedom present of thought of José Comblin there is a relation of with ideological genesis of Popular Education and its liberating praxis in society in Brazil in the second part of the twentieth century. For this brings up the life of José Comblm, and those people who discuss with him in order to can understand in the way prolific notion of liberation within the historical periods that marked the renewal of the Catholic Church and the formation of Liberation Theology. These important moments say about second Vatican council, the conference of Medellín, of Puebla y post-puebla. Still made a brief history of popular education in Brazil and Latin America and their philosophical and pedagogical implications in order to have concrete facts to perform the analysis of the relationship between the theoretical and the context of popular education and the notion of freedom and liberation in thought of Joseph Comblin. / Este estudo discute a relação entre o processo de Libertação no pensamento de José Comblin e a Educação Popular, a partir da perspectiva antropológica e social da liberdade do ser humano como vocação singular de cada sujeito. Discute ainda a implicação desta noção de liberdade que inclui a responsabilidade para com o outro, como dimensão fundamental para o engajamento na luta pela transformação da sociedade. Por meio de pesquisa bibliográfica, foi realizada a análise dos elementos que fazem interface entre a noção de libertação-liberdade e a Educação Popular no pensamento de Comblin. Trabalha-se com a hipótese de que o elemento antropológico e social na perspectiva de Libertação, presente no pensamento de José Comblin, tem relação com a gênese ideológica da Educação Popular e sua práxis libertadora na sociedade no Brasil, na segunda parte do século XX. Para tal, buscou-se apresentar a vida e a obra de José Comblin e daqueles que dialogam com ele, a fim de que se possa entender de maneira profícua a noção de libertação dentro dos períodos históricos que marcaram a renovação da Igreja Católica e a formação da Teologia da Libertação. Esses momentos marcantes dizem respeito ao Concílio Vaticano II, à Conferência de Medellín, de Puebla e pós-puebla. Ainda se fez um breve histórico da Educação Popular no Brasil e na América Latina e suas implicações filosóficas e pedagógicas a fim de ter elementos concretos para realizar a análise da relação entre o referencial teórico e o contexto da Educação Popular e a noção de liberdade e libertação no pensamento de José Comblin.

Este trabalho pretende analisar as relações de poder estabelecidas no interior de uma comunidade católica: a Paróquia de São Pedro de Vidigueiras, localizada na cidade de Teresópolis, Região Serrana do Rio de Janeiro. Para atingir tal objetivo realizo observação participante, análises comparativas e discussão com autores clássicos que abordam a questão do poder, principalmente Gramsci, Foucault, Bourdieu e Balandier. Entendo o poder como uma relação social. Nas relações de poder os sujeitos sociais buscam a construção da hegemonia (consenso estabelecido pela difusão ideológica) e/ou exercício da dominação (coerção pela violência). Os conflitos no campo religioso, ao menos no que tange à escala comunitária, possuem elementos característicos: a criação de símbolos, mitos, rituais, manutenção ou redefinição da memória coletiva e de concepções de mundo, o estabelecimento de redes de aliança etc. Portanto, faz-se necessário o estudo dos discursos e das praticas religiosas dos sujeitos e grupos constitutivos da comunidade, e dos mecanismos utilizados pelos mesmos para a construção da hegemonia. / This work intends to analyze the relationships of power established inside a Catholic community: the Parish of São Pedro de Vidigueiras, located in the city of Teresópolis, Highland Area of Rio de Janeiro. To reach such an objective I accomplish participant observation, comparative analyses and discussion with classic authors that approach the subject of the power, mainly Gramsci, Foucault, Bourdieu and Balandier. I understand the power as a social relationship. In the powers relationships the social actors look for the construction of the hegemony (established consensus for the ideological diffusion) and/or exercise of the dominance (coercion for the violence). The conflicts in the religious field, at least with respect to the community scale, they possess characteristic elements: the creation of symbols, myths, rituals, maintenance or redefinition of the collective memory and of world conceptions, the establishment of alliance nets etc. Therefore, it is done necessary the study of the speeches and of the you practice nuns of the subjects and constituent groups of the community, and of the mechanisms used by the same ones for the construction of the hegemony.

Inserida na linha de pesquisa Política e Cultura, esta tese entende a Religião como um poder simbólico e como um fenômeno que penetrando a política e a cultura de um povo, de uma nação, estabelece valores, interfere na elaboração das normas jurídicas, estabelece e resignifica os costumes e as tradições. Através de vasta documentação afirmamos que a Igreja Católica no Brasil se manteve ligada ao Estado e interferiu na vida política e cultural do país até os anos de 1970. Neste período a Igreja manteve uma postura de combate ao socialismo e às esquerdas que se manteve posteriormente, porém, a Teologia da Libertação se desenvolveu tomando os conceitos marxistas e as Ciências Políticas como fundamento para suas análises. A ruptura das relações entre a Igreja e o Estado no Brasil nos anos de 1970 e o desenvolvimento da Teologia da Libertação são analisados a partir do pensamento de Antonio Gramsci, considerando a Igreja Sociedade Civil. O rompimento da hegemonia da Igreja Católica em relação ao Estado efetivou a organização das pastorais e movimentos de base em busca do estabelecimento de uma nova ordem política e assim o estabelecimento de uma nova hegemonia da Igreja no Brasil dos anos de 1990. / Integrating the research field of Politics and Culture, this thesis considers Religion as a symbolic power and as a phenomenon that permeates the politics and culture of a nation, establishes values, intervenes in the elaboration of juridical norms, determines and gives new meanings to customs and traditions. By means of an extensive documentation, this thesis states that the Catholic Church in Brazil has remained associated with the State and interfered in the countrys political and cultural life until the 1970s. In this period and afterwards the attitude of the Church was to combat socialism and the leftists. Nevertheless, the Liberation Theology developed taking Marxist concepts and Political Sciences as its basis. The rupture of relations between the Church and the State in the 1970 together with the development of the Liberation Theology are analyzed in accordance with Antonio Gramscis ideas, considering the Church as a civil society. In the 1990s, the disruption of the hegemony of Catholic Church towards the State propitiated the organization of popular and pastoral movements that tried to establish a new political order and a new hegemony for the Catholic Church in Brazil.