The Soft Voice of Activism. Christian Lobbying and Reform in the Fields of Sexual Rights and Domestic Violence in Botswana and South Africa

激进主义的柔和声音。

• 批准号: 287078197
• 负责人: Professor Dr. Thomas G. Kirsch
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Professur für Ethnologie und Kulturanthropologie
• 依托单位国家: 德国
• 项目类别: Research Grants
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 德国
• 起止时间: 2015-12-31 至 2019-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/287078197?language=en
• 关键词: Soft; Voice; Activism.; Christian; Lobbying

Taking religio-political activism by Christian organizations in Botswana and South Africa as the entry-point for an ethnographic analysis, this anthropological project explores the relationship between two modalities of religio-political activism, namely 'lobbying' and 'reform'. Comparing these modalities provides important insights into forms of religio-political activism that have different audiences and 'directions' of communication. As understood in this project, lobbying is characterized by a 'bottom-up' approach (i.e. citizens trying to influence political decision-makers); reform, on the other hand, follows a 'top-down' approach (i.e. 'reformed' activists trying to influence 'not-yet-reformed' ordinary citizens). More particularly, the project explores religio-political activism against rights for sexual minorities (sub-project Botswana) and activism against sexual violence committed against women (sub-project South Africa). This promises important insights into how Christian organizations in Africa are presently entering a new phase of civic (often: conservative) engagement as they build on previous forms of religious politicking, as they are influenced by transnationally circulating discourses, and as they shape future developments on this continent. In doing so, the findings of, and theoretical perspectives developed in, this project promise to offer new conceptual analyses of (a) 'soft' modalities of activism, (b) the role of 'languages of persuasiveness' in the activists' attempts to effect transformations in the social world, (c) forms of activism that are rather conservative than revolutionary, and (d) newly emerging interactions and intersections between the religious and the political domain.

这个人类学项目以博茨瓦纳和南非基督教组织的宗教-政治活动作为人种学分析的切入点，探讨了宗教-政治活动的两种模式之间的关系，即“游说”和“改革”。比较这些模式提供了对具有不同受众和交流“方向”的宗教政治活动形式的重要见解。正如本项目所理解的那样，游说的特点是“自下而上”的方法（即公民试图影响政治决策者）；另一方面，改革遵循“自上而下”的方法(即：“改革”积极分子试图影响“尚未改革”的普通公民)。更具体地说，该项目探讨了反对性少数群体权利的宗教政治活动（博茨瓦纳子项目）和反对对妇女实施性暴力的活动（南非子项目）。这将为我们提供重要的见解，让我们了解非洲的基督教组织是如何进入公民（通常是：保守）参与的新阶段的，因为它们建立在以前的宗教政治形式之上，因为它们受到跨国传播话语的影响，因为它们塑造了非洲大陆的未来发展。在此过程中，本项目的研究结果和理论观点有望提供以下方面的新概念分析：(a)行动主义的“软”模式，(b)“说服语言”在活动家试图影响社会世界变革中的作用，(c)相对保守而非革命性的行动主义形式，以及(d)宗教和政治领域之间新出现的相互作用和交叉点。