Towards an (im)possible politics of forgiveness? Considering the complexities of religion, race and politics in South Africa
Date
2020
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
African Sun Media
Abstract
This chapter engages the complexity of a politics of forgiveness in South Africa some
24 years after the end of political apartheid. We shall do so by considering contested
understandings of forgiveness among Black and White South Africans in relation to
the trauma and history of apartheid. Why do White South Africans want forgiveness?
Is it to find freedom from the wwguilt of apartheid, or possibly also to be set free from
the responsibility to make reparations for the past? Could forgiveness be a weapon
that further wounds Black South Africans by expecting them not only to live with
the social, political and economic consequences of apartheid, but also to stop calling
for justice? In his poem, ‘Fiction en estrangement,’ Nathan Trantraal speaks of how
the Christian religion calls Black South Africans to forgive their White perpetrators.
Yet this call doesn’t always count the cost of the call for forgiveness. He speaks of
“die gif in vergifnis”, the poison (gif) in forgiveness (vergifnis) (Trantraal, 2017).
This chapter draws upon a four-year qualitative empirical study on how Black and
White South African Christians understand the processes and notions of forgiveness
in the light of South Africa’s complex economic, social and political context. The
project is entitled ‘The (im)possibility of forgiveness?’
We begin by considering the notion of the (im)possibility of forgiveness in present
day South Africa. Why does the research focus on forgiveness (and not mercy,
reconciliation, or indeed retribution or redistribution)? Next, we shall spend some
time looking at the relationship between social identity complexities and notions
of forgiveness among Black and White South African Christians. We shall end
with some considerations of what may contribute towards making (im)possible
forgiveness possible, and meaningful, among South Africans.
Description
CITATION: Forster, D. A. 2020. Towards an (im)possible politics of forgiveness? Considering the complexities of religion, race and politics in South Africa, in Nel, M. J., Forster, D. A. & Thesnaar, C. H. (eds.) 2020. Reconciliation, forgiveness and violence in Africa : biblical, pastoral and ethical perspectives. Stellenbosch: SUN PReSS, doi:10.18820/9781928480532/04.
The original publication is available from AFRICAN SUNMeDIA - www.sun-e-shop.co.za
The original publication is available from AFRICAN SUNMeDIA - www.sun-e-shop.co.za
Keywords
Forgiveness -- Religious aspects -- Christianity, Religion and politics -- South Africa
Citation
Forster, D. A. 2020. Towards an (im)possible politics of forgiveness? Considering the complexities of religion, race and politics in South Africa, in Nel, M. J., Forster, D. A. & Thesnaar, C. H. (eds.) 2020. Reconciliation, forgiveness and violence in Africa : biblical, pastoral and ethical perspectives. Stellenbosch: SUN PReSS, doi:10.18820/9781928480532/04.