The language of “diversity” in reconstructing whiteness in the Dutch Reformed Church

Abstract

The paper will seek to evaluate talk of ’diversity‘ in the white Dutch Reformed Church. Drawing on official work within the church as well as online forums where members participated in discussing this topic, the language and metaphors used in various theological reflections on ‘diversity’ is described and critically discussed. Drawing on critical perspectives on whiteness, some of the problems associated with talk of diversity when reflecting on race is discussed. The paper argue that while the theological reflection on diversity create language which draw white Christians out of their enclosed spaces into a place where greater knowledge of and relationships with black South Africans can be formed, it fails to draw white Christians into a deeper reflection on their own identity, and fail to engage critical dimensions of race as a system of power and privilege.