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The effects of tribalism and ethnicity on the raising of missional christian communities in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa-a case study of Durban Central and Pretoria Central Metropoles
Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2025.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | en_ZA |
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2025
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| _version_ | 1867614136703123456 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Monoametsi, Kamogelo |
| author2 | White, Peter |
| author_browse | Monoametsi, Kamogelo White, Peter |
| author_facet | White, Peter Monoametsi, Kamogelo |
| author_sort | Monoametsi, Kamogelo |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description |
Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2025. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/132251 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | en_ZA |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:47:15.075Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/132251 The effects of tribalism and ethnicity on the raising of missional christian communities in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa-a case study of Durban Central and Pretoria Central Metropoles Monoametsi, Kamogelo White, Peter Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Theology. Dept. of Practical Theology & Missiology. Ethnicity -- Religious aspects -- Christianity Race relations -- Religious aspects -- Christianity Ethnicity -- Religious aspects UCTD Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2025. Monoametsi, K. 2025. The Effects of Tribalism and Ethnicity on the Raising of Missional Christian Communities in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa-A Case Study of Durban Central and Pretoria Central Metropoles. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University [online]. Available: https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/fb1869e0-c5fd-48c7-b12d-8051b2d5c6aa ENGLISH SUMMARY: The Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA) is a multi-ethnic and multi-tribal community, comprising diverse cultural groups that express their social identities across various spaces within the church. Like many other organizations, MCSA is not immune to the ethnic and tribal challenges facing both Africa and the world at large. These challenges have been observed and highlighted by various church leaders, with the aim of safeguarding the church’s missional identity and ensuring it is not compromised. This research seeks to address these ethnic and tribal challenges from both a missional and Wesleyan theological perspective. To explore these issues within the MCSA, the study focused on two congregations—Durban Central Metropoles and Pretoria Central Metropole—which serve as demographic representatives of the church’s broader social and cultural identities. These two congregations are located in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, respectively, and reflect the ethnic diversity of the MCSA. A qualitative approach was used to gather field data. An electronic questionnaire was distributed to participants from both congregations, and church leaders from higher organizational structures within the MCSA. Responses were analyzed through missional and Wesleyan theological frameworks. Several key themes emerged from the data, including exclusionary practices in worship spaces, language as a significant contributing factor to division, and ethnic domination in leadership roles. Ethnic and tribal allegiance often played a role in determining a sense of belonging, with some respondents indicating a desire to change congregations due to these divisions. The study concluded that exclusionary and discriminatory patterns could be addressed based on suggestions from respondents. Interestingly, some participants expressed optimism, believing that the church has the potential to foster unity and build inclusive, loving communities. From a missional and Wesleyan perspective, the study suggests that traditional systems that perpetuate exclusionary behaviours and attitudes can be transformed, promoting multilingual, intercultural, multi-ethnic, and inter-tribal unity. The study recommends promoting intercultural dialogue and reconciliation, creating inclusive worship spaces that acknowledge and celebrate ethnic and tribal diversity, and reviewing the leadership selection process to ensure equal representation and the fair distribution of leadership roles. Finally, the research emphasizes that ethnicity and tribalism, in and of themselves, are not inherently destructive. Rather, they can be harnessed to foster social and cultural cohesion. The study concludes that MCSA has the opportunity to champion a vision of ethnic and tribal unity, equality, inclusion, reconciliation, and tolerance. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Geen opsomming beskikbaar. Doctoral 2025-05-30T13:58:00Z 2025-05-30T13:58:00Z 2025-03 Thesis https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/132251 en_ZA Stellenbosch University viii, 200 pages ; includes annexures application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Ethnicity -- Religious aspects -- Christianity Race relations -- Religious aspects -- Christianity Ethnicity -- Religious aspects UCTD Monoametsi, Kamogelo The effects of tribalism and ethnicity on the raising of missional christian communities in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa-a case study of Durban Central and Pretoria Central Metropoles |
| title | The effects of tribalism and ethnicity on the raising of missional christian communities in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa-a case study of Durban Central and Pretoria Central Metropoles |
| title_full | The effects of tribalism and ethnicity on the raising of missional christian communities in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa-a case study of Durban Central and Pretoria Central Metropoles |
| title_fullStr | The effects of tribalism and ethnicity on the raising of missional christian communities in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa-a case study of Durban Central and Pretoria Central Metropoles |
| title_full_unstemmed | The effects of tribalism and ethnicity on the raising of missional christian communities in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa-a case study of Durban Central and Pretoria Central Metropoles |
| title_short | The effects of tribalism and ethnicity on the raising of missional christian communities in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa-a case study of Durban Central and Pretoria Central Metropoles |
| title_sort | effects of tribalism and ethnicity on the raising of missional christian communities in the methodist church of southern africa a case study of durban central and pretoria central metropoles |
| topic | Ethnicity -- Religious aspects -- Christianity Race relations -- Religious aspects -- Christianity Ethnicity -- Religious aspects UCTD |
| url | https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/132251 |
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