The purpose of the present investigation was to determine if there were significant differences in the areas of inter-personal values between members of benevolent associations and members of social associations.

This research deals with Christian missions and African cultures. It focuses on the traditional social associations of the Nso’ people of Cameroon. The main problem the research addresses is that missionaries who came to Nso’ mostly imposed their culture on the Nso’ and by extension Africa in the name of Christianity. What this research refers to as traditional social associations is what the missionaries prejudicially termed secret societies. The research argues that these traditional social associations are not secret societies. They are rather custodians and preservers of Nso’ culture. Their activities are largely social, and revolve around eating and drinking. The research compares the case of Nso’ with missionary endeavours in North Africa: Egypt, Axum and Nubia and in Sub-Saharan Africa. In all these areas, the following commonalities are found: insufficient interest in the indigenous languages, syncretism, the tendency of mission to always link with colonialism and to despise the African worldview. In all these areas, the result was conflict between mission and indigenous culture, and conflict within the traditional cultures. In order to appropriately engage contexts in Africa that have traditional social associations like Nso’, the researcher proposes the use of an integrated missional approach. By integrated missional approach the researcher means a perspective that takes theology, anthropology, sociology and culture seriously when carrying out the mission of God (missio Dei). The researcher presents an integrated missional approach that is constructed in the light of contextualisation. This approach is based on Niebuhr’s typology that is described in his book Christ and culture and as analysed by Kraft in his Anthropology for Christian witness. The following sociological theories: functionalism, conflict theory, phenomenology and social identity theory are used to discuss how certain realities operate in human communities. Using content analysis as his predominant methodological approach to the data collected, the researcher concludes that culture has been, is, and will continue to be the main vehicle for mission. Hence, the traditional social associations of the Nso’ people, which form the core culture of Nso’ need to be seen as an opportunity for evangelisation. The research shows that the missionary era in Nso’ in particular and Africa in general has ended and that the era in which the local church is finding its own identity is underway. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Methodist Church Britain / Science of Religion and Missiology / PhD / Unrestricted

Dans un contexte de profondes transformations de l’action publique, cette thèse étudie les relations entre associations et pouvoirs publics, en consolidant une approche en termes d’interactions. Alors que les relations entre ces deux acteurs sont souvent envisagées de manière unilatérale, dans le sens d’une influence croissante de l’intervention publique sur les fonctionnements et projets associatifs, elle analyse également l’influence des associations sur les pouvoirs publics, moins explorée par la littérature. Sont étudiées pour cela les associations qui fournissent des services sociaux et médico-sociaux de la Région Languedoc-Roussillon, en combinant matériaux qualitatif et quantitatif. La perspective théorique mobilisée est socio-économique et s’appuie sur la critique du courant économique standard pour lequel les associations ne sont perçues qu’à travers leur rôle économique de prestataires de services. Cette thèse adopte ainsi une perspective plus complexe, en considérant également le rôle politique des associations. Aussi, son approche est contextualisée, historiquement et institutionnellement, comme suggéré par la démarche institutionnaliste. Sont ainsi étudiées les évolutions dans la régulation de l’État-providence depuis 1945 pour aboutir à la caractérisation du modèle actuel oscillant entre encadrement renforcé et mise en concurrence des associations. Enfin, l’exploration des dimensions organisationnelles et stratégiques des associations permet de mettre en évidence leur diversité dans le processus interactif, au-delà de la rationalisation. / In a context of profound changes in public policy, this thesis investigates the relationship between associations and public authorities by consolidating an approach in terms of interactions. Relations between these two entities are often considered unilaterally, pointing solely the increasing influence of public intervention on the functioning and projects of non-profit organizations, whereas this thesis looks also at the impact of associations on government, which is less explored in the literature. Associations providing social and “médico-social” services in the Languedoc-Roussillon Region are studied by a combination from qualitative and quantitative data. The theoretical perspective mobilized is a socio-economic one. It is built on the criticism of economic standard current according to which associations are perceived only through their economic role of service providers. By considering the political role of associations as well, this thesis adopts a more complex approach. Moreover, this approach is historically and institutionally contextualized, as suggested by the Institutionalist theory. The analysis of the changes in the regulation of the welfare state since 1945, leads to the characterization of the current model that oscillates between an enhanced supervision and a competitive tendering of the associations. Finally, the exploration of organizational and strategic features of the associations highlights, beyond rationalization, their diversity in the studied interactive process.