Faith communities, social exclusion, homelessness and disability: Transforming the margins in the City of Tshwane

Thinandavha D Mashau,Leomile Mangoedi

doi:10.4102/hts.v71i3.3088

Thinandavha D Mashau, Leomile Mangoedi

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v71i3.3088

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Abstract

Social exclusion is a reality in South Africa today. Its faces are diverse and varied; social exclusion can be defined in terms of social, economic, political and religious dimensions. This diversity also applies to the context of homelessness in the City of Tshwane. The research on which this article is based sought to explore the issue of social exclusion from a religious perspective; it looked closely at how social exclusion manifests from a religious perspective in the context of homelessness and disability in the City of Tshwane. The thrust of this article is captured in the following question: how do homeless people and persons with disability experience social exclusion from faith communities? What do they say about the role that faith communities should play in addressing their marginalisation? These questions were answered by doing Contextual Bible Study of Acts 3:1–10 with the homeless in the City of Tshwane, thereby allowing them space for their voices to be heard as to how the faith community should respond to their plight. It became clear in this research that faith communities should always act as transforming agents to those in the margins.

Highlights

The statue of Cecil John Rhodes has fallen at the University of Cape Town
It is clear from the foregoing that faith communities, as represented by the Christian church in our research, are not immune to the problem of social exclusion; the need to reflect on the current situation of social exclusion as experienced by the homeless in Tshwane
Questions that arose were: how do the homeless and persons with disability experience social exclusion from faith communities? What do they say about the role that faith communities should play in addressing their marginalisation? In order to get answers to these questions and seek God’s peace for the homeless in the City of Tshwane, this research allowed the socially excluded homeless in the city to be heard as they interpreted Acts 3:1–10 within the ambit of their own experiences

Summary

Introduction

The statue of Cecil John Rhodes has fallen at the University of Cape Town. After this incident, other statues were defaced and vandalised; statues of Louis Botha outside Parliament and Queen Victoria in Port Elizabeth are such examples. In the City of Tshwane, the statue of Paul Kruger at the Church Square was defaced These actions have become very much part of the current social discourse in South Africa. It appears from the literature that faith communities today seem to be very exclusive and inaccessible They have created religious codes that keep the ‘different others’ in the margins. It is clear from the foregoing that faith communities, as represented by the Christian church in our research, are not immune to the problem of social exclusion; the need to reflect on the current situation of social exclusion as experienced by the homeless in Tshwane. Literature review on faith communities, social exclusion, homelessness and disability in the context of Tshwane to map out the background to this research

Literature review on social exclusion

Research methodology

Conclusion