For many years, the South African people have lived under the bondage of various past events that left the people broken and in need of liberation. One of the most commonly known issues that plagued the country for many years was apartheid, a period during which black people were not allowed to mingle with the whites. Logically, it is impossible for a purely white theology to liberate a people that are naturally and exclusively black in their culture and all ways of living. An African theology would come in handy as the people can relate with it and feel more at home since it would resonate with their traditions and ideas for a better Africa. The traditional Christian theology in South Africa doesn't reflect the daily African experience and struggles of the South Africans today. Just like James Cone recognized the need of a Black Theology of liberation, an African theology will be critical to liberating South African people.
The church in Africa, having looked at the conditions of abject poverty that the people in the continent are suffering, tried developing a liberation theology, mainly under the support of nationalists and church leaders. They attempted to develop a liberation theology that would use an African perspective to express the Christian faith and celebrate the blessings they believe they are receiving from God with genuine African expressions. Unfortunately, the second world war brought with it winds of change to shake the spirit that had been initiated and manifested in Africa. After the war, westerners, most of whom were missionaries brought their theological perspectives as they tried to suppress the African initiative to develop their own. The events that have since unfolded can be used as credible information to answer the question as to whether or not South African people will ever be free from colonial heritage, especially in theology. The other question is how, if possible, South African Theology will be decolonized.
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Considering the current changes in most sectors of the world, it would be safe to say that South Africans can be liberated using African theology. South Africans still subscribe to the traditional theology that was introduced to them by the old missionaries, which fundamentally carries more of westernization than Africanism. This way, South Africa can enjoy a more localized form of theology, which is the fundamental ingredient needed for South Africans to be free from all the bad history that white theology keeps reminding them of. According to James Cone, a Theologian of the modern Methodist doctrine wrote a book entitled “A Black Theology of Liberation” in which he talks of people of color’s relationship with God and divinity. In this book, he explains that there is a need to develop a black theology that helps black people identify with God directly and liberate themselves in the same manner. Similarly, the liberation of South Africans and all Africans can only happen through a purely African theological approach, which can manifest itself in various ways.
One of the indicators that the South Africans can be liberated is that since the late 50s, the church throughout the African continent has been vocal concerning the issues of theology. They claim that the traditional western theology did not, in any way, reflect Africanism but instead, it was more of a western-based initiative. Furthermore, the missionaries, as well as some of the Africans who had been taken abroad to learn the theology, did not seem to be addressing Africa’s everyday life. Despite these limitations, the new theology was portrayed as the orthodox faith, expecting Africans to consume it as it came without question. At this point, there were no particular efforts to make them understand the theology except worshipping God at set times. In South Africa, the same issue that the rest of the Africans faced is the root cause of their current disillusionment. Even so, the fact that the religious fraternity has realized that western theology was not what they needed in the first step towards liberating South Africa. Additionally, various strategies can be used to free the people through theological developments and improving the current state of affairs as far as religious belief is concerned.
This brings us to our next point; how can South African theology be decolonized? According to the Critical race theory, the American society has an ingrained system of racism such that the individual racist does not necessarily have to exist for them to realize the pervasiveness of racism in the dominant culture. Essentially, the theory defines the power structures that are often based on white supremacy and the marginalization of people of color in a system of indirect oppression (Delgado 8). Similarly, the introduction of western theology in South Africa and the broader continent was an example of the critical race theory in action. First, the introduction of a western form of theology and expecting Africans to follow it just the way it came is a good example of the tenets of the critical race theory. Additionally, taking Africans for training and imparting them with the knowledge of the new theology was a way of ensuring that they do not come with their own, but instead, they would convince their people to follow what they had learned. Arguably, one of the ways in which South African theology can be decolonized is by eliminating the notions brought about by the Western.
Before a whole community can be changed, one has to decolonize individual minds, which would then spill down to the rest of society. The idea of modernity is often linked to westernization such that South Africans cannot think of modernity without expecting changes that have come from the west. Essentially, the mind is transfixed to believe that there is nothing modern that can come from the local surroundings. Consequently, the South African people have first to understand that every culture is unique in its own way and whatever may seem new to them may not be as new to those who bring it. Realizing this fact will send the country a step ahead into thinking about how the cultures addressed in the western-based theology do not reflect what they practice in the country. This realization will also be an eye-opener for most of the locals who might now realize that there is a plethora of untapped wealth in their local culture. Logically, God can manifest Himself in an African setting in the same way that He does in the western culture. Arguably, when the brain is decolonized, the people can start realizing the wealth on which Africa lies and that they do not need to be taught about God by foreigners.
Secondly, South African theology can be decolonized by eliminating the mentality that there is anyone more superior than the other. Essentially, the white theologians and missionaries spread the notion that white oppressors were more superior than the blacks who served them as slaves and were oppressed for ages. South Africans must first realize that God manifests Himself both to the oppressor and to the oppressed indiscriminately (Truth To power). The development of a black theology would be primarily based on equalizing the oppressor and the oppressed, the slave and the master, and so on because we are all human. For instance, there is no point for a professional theologian in South Africa to compete with the self-proclaimed scholars and theologians in Europe and other places abroad. The individual needs to be aware that his or her knowledge of African heritage and the level of expertise that he has is equivalent to that of any other professional around the globe (Ward 571). This way, the mentality of equality is manifested in everyone, making South Africans believe in their capabilities and forge ahead towards using their knowledge to develop a local theology. Additionally, the fact that South Africa is a multilingual and multi-ethnic country makes it a stronghold for theological development and the creation of a unique instructional guideline towards understanding God in everyone’s native language.
Black theology, as well as the womanist theological tenets, can serve to decolonize South Africa by changing people’s perception of the world around them. According to Womanist Theology, everyone is equal and has a right to access all the necessary resources regardless of their gender. Primarily, Womanist Theologians fought for the revisiting and the reinterpretation of particular understandings of traditions, scriptures, practices and the Bible with a lens that preserves African-American women’s dignity, empowers and liberates them (Grant 10). In the same light, black theology refers to people of color’s way of identifying with God and redefining their place in the world of white supremacists. Principally, white people have cultivated the notion that everything that places humanity at a high place belongs to them (Black Opinion). For instance, they circulate images and films of a white Jesus, showing the world that Jesus Christ was white and consequently, He originated from them. In the same light, women have long suffered under the brutality of male chauvinists, and consequently, they established the Womanist theology to liberate themselves. In a colonized society such as South Africa, decolonization becomes a challenging fact, but through the examples of the Black and Womanist theologies, it is possible for an African theology to emerge and spread.
South Africa has to rise to the fact that in order to achieve total theological liberation, the primary solution is to let the west know that even Africa can be self-dependent and capable of developing a local theology for the people and by the locals. For instance, in the African churches context, the philosophers, theologians, alongside other black academic professionals have to come together and engage the theology of the church through extensive research (Truth To Power). The research, writings, and publications will, in turn, expose the perspective of the members of the local church in South Africa. At the same time, the westerners have to understand that as much as they teach Africans about theology in their culture and context, they can also learn one or two things from the African perspective and incorporate the ideas in their theology. Since Africa has its own professional theologians and teachers of religion who can develop a localized version of African theology, there is no need of using a theological approach based on elevating one group of people while undermining the other on racial bases.
Initially, the colonialists were interested in communicating the scriptural message in their home language, eliminating all the other languages such as local African languages. The primary aim here was to chase the utopian dream of homogenization so that the ‘outpost’ would replicate as an extension of the homeland geographically. The colonialists would go to the extent of punishing those who did not use their mother tongues such as Dutch, Portuguese, English, and so on. Contrastingly, the new Christian theology in Africa is an all-inclusive type of faith that accommodates both the blacks and the whites in Africa and ensures that everyone has a feeling of belonging and equality. Additionally, African theology is an excellent source of salvation for South Africa because it offers a localized perspective of God and divinity in languages that local South Africans understand and appreciate. At the same time, although it takes long to decolonize mind habits, ways of feeling, and sensibility, and values is a long process, the people will eventually see the new theology for what it truly is. They will also appreciate the efforts of local theologians to bring God closer to them in ways that may take long but be useful in the long run.
In the same light, decolonizing South Africans is a plausible strategy to get the whole continent on board. According to Muzorewa (61), it is impossible to exempt African traditional theology which incorporates theological reflection on traditional religious beliefs that had not been informed by the scriptures, proverbs, reason, and so on and still talk of an African liberation theology away from the western scriptures. This argument explains that unless Africa goes back to its roots and examines the fundamental beliefs before contamination by the foreigners’ theologies, there is no possibility of talking about liberation. Essentially, the only way that South Africans can be saved from the mental chains of Christian beliefs is by engaging their traditional practices, cultures, and beliefs, which they can easily relate to and change their mindset.
In summary, the South African people can be free from the colonial heritage, particularly when it comes to Christianity and religious aspects. Considering the nature of the contemporary theology in the country, it does not reflect the people’s actual way of life, but instead, it is more of a foreign aspect that the locals are expected to believe and follow. Even so, the country can develop a localized form of theology in which the Average South African is considered as an integral component. Essentially, the new African theology of liberation should be a blend of the black theology and womanist theological tenets that define the people’s culture and general way of life. It is also a way of bringing God closer to the South African people by making them understand the scriptures better and making doctrines that reflect the actual South African heritage in their language and mannerism. Arguably, the only way to liberate a people is by improving their self-awareness and making them understand where they go wrong for them to change their ways and embrace a new beginning.
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