Philosophy Spirituality

Religion & Reconciliation in South Africa

Voices of Religious Leaders

by Audrey R Chapman, Bernard Spong Review by David Lorimer, December 2003

Published: 2003
Publisher: Templeton Foundation Press
Format: Paperback
Pages: 321 pp.
ISBN: 9781932031287

Publisher’s description

Postapartheid South Africa's efforts to come to terms with its past, particularly its Truth and Reconciliation Commission's emphasis on forgiveness and reconciliation, is of special interest to many in the world community. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), led by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, was mandated to go beyond truth-finding and to "promote national unity and reconciliation in a spirit of understanding which transcends the conflict and divisions of the past." In contrast with other truth commissions, the TRC was led by clerics rather than lawyers and judge, and the TRC's approach to reconciliation was shaped by and imbued with religious content. The TRC submitted its final report to the Mandela administration in October 1998. Over the next two years, the Rev. Bernard Spong, former communications director of the South African Council of Churches, conducted a series of in-depth interviews about the TRC with thirty-three key religious figures. In this volume, they discuss and evaluate the following issues: •How should we understand the concept of national or political reconciliation and its requirements? •What are the differences and similarities between religious and political approaches to reconciliation? •Does national or political reconciliation require forgiveness between former victims and perpetrators? •What is the appropriate role of religious representatives in a truth commission process? And is it recommended that other countries emulate the South African model? •How do religious leaders assess the contributions and limitations of the TRC? •What kind of initiatives are contemporary religious communities taking to promote reconciliation among their members and in the wider society? The conversations presented in this volume, and the essays interpreting them, seek to illuminate issues and questions raised by the TRC model, including how to conceptualize reconciliation and the differences between political and religious approaches.

Some readers will recall my review of Desmond Tutu's 'No Future without Forgiveness' in the last issue - in it he recounted his experiences with theTruth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa. Here is a wider canvas with a range of voices expressed in interviews with religious leaders from different traditions and denominations. These include African Indigenous Churches, Jewish and Muslim leaders, although with a predominance of Christian leaders. A number of real issues are raised: Kevin Dowling (a Catholic) remarks that for him 'the objective of the truth being revealed as a means to reconciliation was not attained' - justice was sacrificed through the amnesty process. Franz Auerbach makes a similar point from a Jewish perspective after an excellent analysis of the concept of reconciliation: 'the more truth we discover, the less likely we will be able to reconcile. Exposure may well prove divisive'. This is where forgiveness comes in as a necessary precursor to a new future.

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