NWU Institutional Repository

Christianity and secularisation in South Africa: probing the possible link between modernisation and secularisation

Loading...
Thumbnail Image

Date

Authors

Vorster, Nico

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Edinburgh University Press

Abstract

The secularisation theory of Max Weber states that modernisation inevitably leads to the decline of religion. This theory has in recent years been challenged by the desecularisation theories of various sociologists and philosophers. This article probes the possible link between modernisation and secularisation through a case study of the Republic of South Africa. South Africa is an important case study because it went through a rapid process of modernisation from the 1990s onwards. The first section examines the secularisation thesis of Weber and his supporters, as well as theories of desecularisation. The second section discusses the periods of anti-modernisation (1910–90) and modernisation (1990–2012) in South Africa. The third section analyses statistical data on the state of religion in South Africa, while the last section offers some concluding remarks on the relationship between modernisation and secularisation in South Africa thus far. The finding of the article is that the South African experience indicates that modernisation has an impact on religion, but the effect is not necessarily one of a decline in religion. In South Africa, modernisation has led to the decline of religion in some communities and the rejuvenation of religion in others. The effect of modernisation on religion seems to depend on its interaction with a range of other social factors

Description

Citation

Vorster, N. 2013. Christianity and secularisation in South Africa: probing the possible link between modernisation and secularisation. Studies in world christianity, 19(2):141-161. [http://www.euppublishing.com/journal/swc]

Endorsement

Review

Supplemented By

Referenced By