Abstract

BENTLEY, Wessel. Postsecular democracy and the reign of God: Reading Habermas and Moltmann in South Africa. In Skriflig (Online) [online]. 2015, vol.49, n.1, pp.1-7. ISSN 2305-0853.  http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/ids.v49i1.2000.

Governed by a liberal constitution, the South African democratic project is progressively finding its own identity. Being a democracy in Africa has unique challenges, as this system of governance needs to be contextualised by integrating African culture, history and memory into a political model which will promote sustainable participatory citizenship. This article engages, from a South African perspective, Habermas' model of a postsecular democracy and Moltmann's understanding of 'Reich Gottes' in Ethics of Hope. This article proposes an integrated relationship between responsible citizenship (Habermas' postsecular democracy) and a Christian social conscience (Moltmann's 'Reign of God')¹ for the South African context.

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