The role of the Dutch Reformed Mission Church and the Dutch Reformed Church in Africa in the struggle for justice in South Africa, 1986-1990

Abstract

A great deal happened in the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) family of churches between the adoption of the Belhar Confession in 1986 and the Rustenburg Conference in November 1990. This paper uses the notion of “the church as a site of struggle” to identify three trajectories in the Dutch Reformed Church in Africa and the Dutch Reformed Mission Church with reference to involvement by their members in the struggle for justice in South Africa. A seven-dimensional praxis matrix is used to explore one of those trajectories, namely: “Standing for justice.” The sources used for this exploration are mainly official church documents.