Afrikaner Calvinism
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Afrikaner Calvinism (
A number of modern studies have argued that
Background
White settlement in
Settlement period
The Dutch settlement of the
But many settlers believed they had arrived with a missionary motive, which included spreading the superiority of European culture. These factors contributed to the settler practice of indenturing the native Khoisan population to serve as workers and servants. Within that master/servant relationship, the Europeans would teach the Bible to them in hope that the message would filter back through the servant's family (along with reports of the superiority of the European way of life) and thus bring about conversion.
The farmers who lived outside the physical walls of the towns had a different arrangement with natives than did the townspeople. To them, occupation meant ownership, and ownership implied the right to protect their property. As they settled into the seemingly unoccupied territories surrounding the Cape, they enforced their assumptions about ownership and its rights against the wandering hunters or herding tribes who crossed the
Separation and rules of exchange were opposed very early in the Afrikaner mind to invasion and conquest. And, this
Folk religion
This history is essential to understanding the distinctive concept of "calling" that developed among the Afrikaners. These attitudes, adopted very early, went with them through later conflicts, formed in a way that to them, seemed to be obviously crafted by the hand of God Himself. They believed that they were preserved because of God's wisdom and Providence. The suffering which they experienced, and the strong bonds that they formed in response to it, seemed to confirm this idea at every turn. Their history as a people has a central place in the formation of the Boer religion. In this way, a distinctive folk character became attached to their Calvinistic beliefs.
This folk religion was not articulated in a formal way. It was the experience of the Afrikaners, which they interpreted through their assurance that their absolutely sovereign Creator and their Lord had shown special grace to them as a particular people.
Nationalism
However, the
A more antithetical message could hardly be imagined, as the British Enlightenment found itself with the Afrikaners for the first time. From the Boer (meaning farmer in Dutch and Afrikaans) point of view, the Enlightenment had resulted in a foreign power ruling over them, imposing alien laws and alien languages, liberated their slaves without compensation, and put the interest of English-speakers over those of the Dutch-speakers. They were exposed to the Enlightenment, and it appeared to them to be a revolution against their God and way of life.[1]
Schism between Boer and Cape Calvinists
During the Great Trek, many people, mostly from the eastern part of the
Meanwhile, back in the Netherlands, the Dutch State church had also been transformed by the Enlightenment, a change represented in the minds of those opposed it, by the loss of any meaningful profession of faith as requisite for adult church members, and the singing of hymns (in addition to psalms) and other innovations in worship and doctrine. In the Netherlands a movement grew in reaction to this perceived dismantlement of Biblical faith. It was called the Afscheiding, in which the Rev. Hendrik de Cock separated himself from the State Church in 1834 in Ulrum, Groningen. There was also a movement called the
Doppers
In the South African Dutch Reformed Church in Transvaal, the more conservative party (known as
The originally contemptuous name, Dopper, may come from the Dutch domp (wick-snuffers) for their opposition to candles and other innovations in worship, perhaps representing their contempt for the Enlightenment; or, Dopper may originate from Dutch dop (and thus drinkers), perhaps on account of their strong opposition to small, individual communion cups.[7]
The
Afrikaner Broederbond
The
After the Sharpeville massacre in 1960, under enormous international pressure, the Broederbond began a slow and quiet re-examination of their policy proposals. And yet no significant changes took place to reform the apartheid system until the Soweto riots in 1976. Some time after this, the Broederbond declared apartheid an irreformable failure and began work to dismantle it. The conviction had finally become established, although not universally that, if the Afrikaner people, language and religion were to survive, they must take the initiative to emerge from the laager, and invite South Africa in. The Broederbond (dropping the policy of secrecy and with the new name Afrikanerbond) began proposing initiatives for land reform and the reversal of apartheid.
Radical changes
The reversal of apartheid has cast the
In 1985, 92% of Afrikaners were members of Reformed Churches. By late 2013, this figure had dropped to 40%, while actual weekly church attendance of Reformed Churches is estimated to be around 25%.[8]
Today, many Afrikaners have found their spiritual homes in charismatic and Pentecostal churches.[citation needed]
See also
Notes and citations
- Notes
- ^ The Dutch administration at the Cape did not initially envision or desire a large European settlement there.
- Citations
- ^ a b c Du Toit 1985, p. 209.
- ^ Williams 1991.
- ^ Hexham & Poewe 1997.
- ^ a b McNeill 1967, p. 381.
- ^ Greaves 2013, p. 37.
- ^ Du Toit 1985, p. 214.
- ^ Lee 1992.
- ^ Oosthuizen 2014.
References
- Online sources
- Oosthuizen, Jean (12 January 2014). "Krisis kom vir leë kerke". Johannesburg: Rapport (Netwerk 24 Nuus). Archived from the original on 12 January 2014. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
- Lee, Francis Nigel (1992). "The Christian Afrikaners: A Brief History of Calvinistic Afrikanerdom from 1652 – 1980" (PDF). Cape Town: Gospel Defence League. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 September 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
- Journal articles
- Williams, Blake (1991). "Apartheid in South Africa: Calvin's Legacy?". The Upsilonian. III. Archived from the original on 14 September 2014.
- Du Toit, André (1985). "Puritans in Africa? Afrikaner "Calvinism" and Kuyperian Neo-Calvinism in Late Nineteenth-Century South Africa". Comparative Studies in Society and History. 27 (2): 209–240. S2CID 145566439.
- Hexham, Irving; Poewe, Karla (1997). "Christianity in Central Southern Africa Prior to 1910". University of Calgary: Nurelweb. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
- Bibliography
- McNeill, JT (1967) [1954]. The History and Character of Calvinism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195007435.
- Greaves, Adrian (2013). The Tribe that Washed its Spears: The Zulus at War. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military. ISBN 978-1629145136.
- Hexham, Irving; Poewe, Karla (1997). Elphick, Richard; Davenport, Rodney (eds.). Christianity in South Africa: A Political, Social, and Cultural History. Claremont: David Philip. ISBN 978-0520209398.