Amakholwa ('The Believers'): Photography, Religion and Society in Contemporary South Africa

在当代南非巨大的社会和经济分化的背景下，我对犹太复国主义基督教的研究为南非公众提供了一个深入的例子，说明宗教在开创公平社会方面的作用。我的AHRC奖学金研究了一场名为犹太复国主义的跨大西洋新教信仰治愈运动的民主资源。我要指出的是，在美国和南非，犹太复国主义教会一直受到被当权者边缘化的工人阶级个人的青睐，他们在皈依犹太复国主义的过程中发现了自我主张的新可能性。例如，它的教义鼓励信徒避开医疗专业人员的专业知识，转而支持普通人简单的祈祷。到二十世纪初，犹太复国主义通过美国传教士传播到南非。犹太复国主义关于全人类平等的教义--不分种族、阶级或教育--意味着犹太复国主义在寻求在种族隔离国家的严苛中要求地位和尊严的南非黑人中获得了巨大的成功。虽然犹太复国主义运动在美国衰落了，但今天犹太复国主义是南非最大的宗教团体，有超过1200万信徒。我认为，犹太复国主义继续有力地塑造着当代南非平等主义社会的愿景。在南非进行研究时，我遇到了获奖摄影师Sabelo Mlangeni，他自己也是犹太复国主义的终生信徒。在过去的一年里，Mlangeni和我制定了一个在约翰内斯堡著名的Wits艺术博物馆(WAM)举办摄影展的建议，展示Mlangeni关于当代犹太复国主义者的60张黑白照片。这次展览将被命名为《信仰者》的阿玛克霍尔瓦。这些照片突出了犹太复国主义信徒之间亲密而深情的联系。Mlangeni使用特写视角和全正面肖像来描绘其他信徒之间的支持纽带。这些照片还强调了犹太复国主义社区的平等主义本质；它们将“信徒”描绘成一群人，在他们中间，神职人员的等级制度在很大程度上是不可见的。总体感觉是年轻男女的水平聚会。通过这种方式，姆兰盖尼的照片与我的研究相结合，探索了宗教归属在超越社会鸿沟方面的重要性，通过将个人重新组织为“信徒”，消除以前的阶级、种族和社会经济地位的鸿沟。在与项目合作伙伴WAM的交谈中，我确定了四个用户社区，他们将从创造性地让他们参与展览和支撑展览的研究中受益。这些人包括1000名中学生、200名犹太复国主义信徒、40名摄影专业的学生和至少3000名约翰内斯堡公众。关于学校观众，我们认为有必要就犹太复国主义在公共领域的作用进行高质量的讨论，因为宗教教育课程基本上没有这方面的内容。第二个受众--犹太复国主义信徒--将受益于通过Mlangeni这样的“内部”声音直观地表达他们的宗教身份。犹太复国主义者对其起源的了解将通过与展览的文本小组和目录接触而得到加强。南非的摄影学生需要教授摄影实践与描绘宗教生活之间的交集，而南非公众将受益于对犹太复国主义(国家媒体很少报道)等宗教社区对超越社会鸿沟的重要意义的深刻评论。这四位观众将通过漫步、摄影工作坊和参与与展览动态互动的宗教仪式来参与。将通过后续问卷、焦点小组和媒体监测来评估受众的参与度。

Against the backdrop of the dramatic social and economic divides characterizing contemporary South Africa, my research on Zionist Christianity offers the South African public an in-depth example of religion's role in pioneering equitable societies. My AHRC Fellowship examines the democratic resources of a transatlantic Protestant faith healing movement called Zionism. I show that in both the United States and South Africa, the Zionist church has been favoured by working-class individuals marginalized by those in power and who, in their conversion to Zionism, found new possibilities for self-assertion. For example, its doctrine encouraged adherents to eschew the expertise of medical professionals in favour of the simple prayer of ordinary people. By the early twentieth century, Zionism had been transmitted to South Africa via American missionaries. Its teachings regarding the equality of all humanity - regardless of race, class or education - meant Zionism found great success amongst black South Africans seeking to claim status and dignity amidst the strictures of a racially segregated state. While the movement declined in the USA, Zionism is today South Africa's largest religious group, with over 12 million believers. I argue Zionism continues to powerfully shape visions of egalitarian society within contemporary South Africa. While conducting research in South Africa, I encountered the prize-winning photographer, Sabelo Mlangeni, himself a life-long Zionist believer. Over the past year, Mlangeni and I have developed a proposal for a photographic exhibition at the renowned Wits Art Museum (WAM) in Johannesburg, displaying Mlangeni's 60 black and white photographs on contemporary Zionists. The exhibition will be entitled Amakholwa, isiZulu for 'The Believers'. The photographs foreground the intimate, affectionate ties between Zionist believers. Mlangeni uses close-up perspectives and full-frontal portraits to portray the bonds of support between fellow believers. These photographs also emphasize the egalitarian nature of Zionist community; they depict 'the believers' as a group of people amongst whom clerical hierarchies are largely invisible. The overall sense is of a horizontal gathering of young men and women. In this way, Mlangeni's photographs engage with my research's exploration of the importance of religious affiliation in transcending social divides by reconstituting individuals as 'believers', erasing former divisions of class, ethnicity and socio-economic status. In conversation with WAM, the project partner, I have identified four user communities who will benefit from creatively engaging them with the exhibition and the research underpinning it. These include 1000 secondary school students, 200 Zionist believers, 40 photography students and at least 3000 members of the Johannesburg public. With respect to the school audience, we have identified a need for high-quality discourse on the role of Zionism in the public sphere as this is largely absent from religious education curricula. The second audience - Zionist believers - would benefit from a visual representation of their religious identity by an 'insider' voice such as Mlangeni. Zionists' knowledge of their origins would be enhanced through their engagement with the exhibition's text panels and the catalogue. Photography students in South Africa need teaching on the intersection between photographic practice and depiction of religious life, while the South African public would benefit from thoughtful commentary on the significance of religious communities such as Zionism (which receives little coverage in the national media) for transcending social divides. These four audiences will be engaged via walk-arounds, a photography workshop and participation in religious rituals dynamically interacting with the exhibition. Audiences' engagement will be assessed through follow-up questionnaires, focus groups and media monitoring.