Der lange Weg zur Versöhnung: das Beispiel der weißen »Dutch Reformed Church« (DRC) in Südafrika

Abstract

“A long road to reconciliation. The Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) in South Africa” examines one particularly significant player in South Africa’s church landscape during Apartheid times. The DRC was known for her close ties to Apartheid politicians and her theological justification of their racist system. The DRC’s still pending reunification with her daughter-churches of different ethnicities is widely regarded as the acid test for reconciliation and for the DRC’s willingness to deal with the guilt of her Apartheid past. In its first part, this essay traces the historical development of the DRC, leading to several schisms over the “race questions,” while the second part examines the gradual change in the DRC’s theological interpretation of Apartheid. A third part looks at central milestones on the DRC’s road to reconciliation, before a final part synthesizes the results in order to turn the focus from the past to the present and future of the DRC and the reconciliation process in South Africa.