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The church and transitional justice : a comparative ethical approach

Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2015.

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Other Authors: Fourie, Willem
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2016
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author2 Fourie, Willem
author_browse Fourie, Willem
author_facet Fourie, Willem
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2016 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2015.
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institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:36:44.480Z
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spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/53072 The church and transitional justice : a comparative ethical approach Fourie, Willem wicusvandermerwe@gmail.com Van der Merwe, Johannes Lodewicus UCTD Afrikaner Chilean Catholic Church Church Comparative Dutch Reformed Church Ethical approach South Africa Transitional justice Theology theses SDG-05 SDG-05: Gender equality Theology theses SDG-10 SDG-10: Reduced inequalities Theology theses SDG-16 SDG-16: Peace, justice and strong institutions Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2015. The study uses transitional justice to explore the role of the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa during processes of societal change and compares it with the Chilean Catholic Church during processes of societal change in Chile. A descriptive approach to Christian ethics is applied, and transitional justice is used as a theoretical instrument by means of which the comparison with the Chilean Catholic Church is systematised and focussed. Despite not applying the conventional normative approach to Christian ethics it seeks to contribute to the discipline by investigating the structure of Christian communities engagement in processes of political transition. The study is inductive in the sense that it uses transitional justice as an instrument by means of which to identify emerging themes. Transitional justice is a useful instrument as it encompasses both judicial and non-judicial elements. The Chilean Cathollic Church was chosen due to a number of reasons. The first is historical proximity: the Chilean totalitarian regime came to an end shortly before the end of apartheid regime of South Africa. The second is key socio-political correspondences, including importantly that Chile instituted a national truth and reconciliation commission from which South Africa drew much inspiration. Both churches utilized their structures in order to serve a struggling community. The difference came when the Dutch Reformed Church chose for the upliftment of a single ethnic group, namely the Afrikaner, and the Chilean Catholic Church kept the whole Chilean society in view. A second differing and defining factor was the Dutch Reformed Church aligning with a political party and a political ideology. In the context of the Dutch Reformed Church the focus on a single ethnic group lead to the development of an ideology based on the idea that the Afrikaner was predestined by God to bring God s light to Africa. The idea of predestination later developed into a pseudo-gospel where the members of this group believed that racial differentiation was a prerequisite for salvation. The pseudo-gospel, in the Dutch Reformed Church later influenced the church s comments on and suggestions regarding legislation such as mixed marriages, border control, geographical settlement and voting rights. The ecclesial reflection of the Chilean Catholic Church, on the other hand, resulted in a church focused on ministering to the needs of a greater society struggling under a dictatorship. The community suffered ubductions, unfair labour practices, poverty, torture and harsh living conditions. The Chilean Catholic Church ministered to these needs by establishing offices around the country rendering free social, welfare and judicial services. The Chilean Catholic Church further endeavoured to bring opposition parties into talks to end the time of the military dictatorship. tm2016 ae2025 Dogmatics and Christian Ethics PhD Unrestricted SDG-05: Gender equality SDG-10: Reduced inequalities SDG-16: Peace, justice and strong institutions 2016-06-10T07:36:19Z 2016-06-10T07:36:19Z 2016-04-14 2015 Thesis Van der Merwe, WL 2015, The church and transitional justice : a comparative ethical approach, PhD Thesis, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd <http://hdl.handle.net/2263/53072> A2016 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/53072 en © 2016 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle UCTD
Afrikaner
Chilean Catholic Church
Church
Comparative
Dutch Reformed Church
Ethical approach
South Africa
Transitional justice
Theology theses SDG-05
SDG-05: Gender equality
Theology theses SDG-10
SDG-10: Reduced inequalities
Theology theses SDG-16
SDG-16: Peace, justice and strong institutions
The church and transitional justice : a comparative ethical approach
title The church and transitional justice : a comparative ethical approach
title_full The church and transitional justice : a comparative ethical approach
title_fullStr The church and transitional justice : a comparative ethical approach
title_full_unstemmed The church and transitional justice : a comparative ethical approach
title_short The church and transitional justice : a comparative ethical approach
title_sort church and transitional justice a comparative ethical approach
topic UCTD
Afrikaner
Chilean Catholic Church
Church
Comparative
Dutch Reformed Church
Ethical approach
South Africa
Transitional justice
Theology theses SDG-05
SDG-05: Gender equality
Theology theses SDG-10
SDG-10: Reduced inequalities
Theology theses SDG-16
SDG-16: Peace, justice and strong institutions
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/53072