The Bible and Apartheid

The starting point of this book is the troubling insight that apartheid was a Christian project. Its theological justification was formulated by Christian theologians such as Totius or E. P. Groenewald. Even the segregated state structure had been prefigured by Dutch Reformed church orders. At the same time the struggle against apartheid was led by many Christian actors such as Desmond Tutu or Allan Boesak. They opposed the racist system in South Africa and made arguments based on biblical interpretations. This book analyzes the ambivalent role Christian actors played during apartheid. It is a study in the intersection of biblical interpretation, hermeneutics, and history of Christianity in South Africa and beyond.