Abstract

KRUGER, Pieter (PK). Afrikaans reformed churches in the humdrum of the times: 1990 and beyond. STJ [online]. 2020, vol.6, n.3, pp.49-78. ISSN 2413-9467.  http://dx.doi.org/10.17570/stj.2020.v6n3.a1.

During the past nearly 30 years the epochs of democratisation and globalisation became intertwined with the South African society, determining its spirit of the age. The democratisation of South African since 1994 has its own history of radical rather than evolutionary transformative measures which brought about constructive changes to the political and social fibre of a secularised South Africa. In conjunction, globalisation as dominant worldview became evident in the transposition of South Africa into a secular, liberal, capitalistic, pluralistic society. Over this period the Afrikaans-speaking churches of reformed tradition were not immune to these influences, channelled via their members' experiences of and responses to their changing social and economic setup. These churches have since also changed. Their influence on society and social matters has dwindled. The contexts of their congregations changed. Their traditional collective forms of institutionalised religion are changing due to the influence of a plurality of different personal, religious beliefs and practices. These developments challenge these churches to rethink their denominational identities and consider the way in which they approach society and what they can contribute to the ecumenical church.

Keywords : Sosiale verandering; sekularisasie; demokratisering; globalisering; pluralisme; ekklesiologie; missionaliteit.

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