Religion and Reconciliation in South Africa. Voices of Religious Leaders

Source: (2003) Philadelphia and London: Templeton Foundation Press.

This book stems from a collaborative project of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and Human Rights Program, and several South African partners, particularly the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (based in Johannesburg). These major partners had been involved in the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) for some time. Upon completion of the TRC’s final report in October 1998, they initiated a multidisciplinary study to understand better the interrelationships between truth-finding and reconciliation in South Africa. Vital to this understanding is an account of the role of the religious communities in the process of and prospects for reconciliation. An important source for information on this role consists of the personal perspectives of religious leaders. The AAAS therefore undertook a series of in-depth interviews with a cross section of key persons in various religious communities. This book then contains an introduction to issues of religion and reconciliation in South Africa, accounts of the interviews, two essays of analysis and reflection on the issues, and appendices of supplemental materials.