“We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.” These wise words were expressed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt (Roosevelt 1941 cited in Palmadessa 2017). More than half South Africa’s youth are looking for employment. It is therefore important to invest more in the youth. However, South Africa remains a country of many faces. It is a country of paradoxes, incongruities and ironies; where poverty and wealth are in competition, while modernity and traditionalism walk side by side. It is recognised as ‘the most unequal country in the world in terms of the enduring legacy of apartheid (Feldman & Wallace 2021). This article, therefore, seeks to understand the place of youth in South Africa’s democratic dispensation.
Contemporary South Africa reflects complex, diverse, and evolving religious realities. Changes continue to manifest at the confluence of encounters between various religions and rapid changes in social institutions that affect, in one way or another, various religions in the nation. These realities are typically embedded in sociocultural contexts and give clarity and meaning to religious experiences. In the post-apartheid era, the spirit of openness toward religious tolerance often dwindles when it comes to interactions between African religion and Pentecostalism. When people understand why followers of other religions believe and practice their rituals and sacraments, this knowledge may help dispel mis- and disinformation and thereby construct inter-religious common ground. Using an extensive review of the relevant literature, this article investigates some of the factors that may limit harmony between African religion and Pentecostalism in South Africa. After providing some definitions and historical context, we discuss the power and legacy of anti-apartheid interfaith solidarity. We also explore ongoing factors hindering interfaith engagements between African religion and Pentecostalism in South Africa. We then explore opportunities for interfaith dialogue in South Africa. Utilizing Walter Hollenweger’s Pentecostal intercultural theology, we argue that expressive liturgy for biodiversity and sustainability, communal participation for reconciliation, and experiential spirituality focused on land care could provide a potential ‘fourth’ approach to interfaith dialogue for African religion and Pentecostalism in South Africa. This includes underappreciated albeit profitable interrelationships between Indigenous knowledge, traditional spirituality, and sustainable development. We also acknowledge some limitations and opportunities for future research. Finally, we offer a succinct concluding synthesis that recapitulates the paper’s main points. This article aims to invigorate interfaith consciousness through meaningful thematization of pertinent issues, including the articulation and application of relevant intercultural theology.
Negotiating belonging: the case of Francophone Cameroonian migrants in PretoriaFrancophone Cameroonian migrants in Pretoria face challenges such as language barriers. The migrants are not easily accepted by locals and often face discrimination and harassment that influence their sense of belonging in the host society. This is accentuated by negative perceptions that see African migrants in South Africa in general as an economic threat to locals. South African policies on migrant labour are also control-oriented to deter immigration. For example, to employ a migrant, an employer must sufficiently convince the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) that there is no suitable South African available to do the job. In the midst of these challenges African migrants must live in cities like Pretoria where the cost of living is high, as opposed to townships where the cost of living is low, for fear of being attacked by locals. The complex relationship between African migrants in South Africa and locals stretches Francophone Cameroonian migrants to belong 'here' (Pretoria) and 'there' (Cameroon) -"transmigration/ transnationalism". This article therefore seeks to answer the following questions; how do Francophone Cameroonian migrants negotiate belonging in Pretoria? What is the role of indigenous languages in the process of negotiating belonging?
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.