Apartheid and Christianity : Comparing to the United States of America's Case.

我在南非斯泰伦博斯大学神学院花了三周时间研究南非共和国基督教的现状。斯泰伦博斯是阿非利卡人的城市，大学的神学院一直是支持种族隔离的阿非利卡人基督教的中心。南非的荷兰归正教会（Dutch Reformed Church）现在正试图承认种族隔离时期的罪行，但宗教是否能够为南非社会的重建做出贡献，目前还不清楚。美国和南非都是多民族国家，为了整合多民族社会，都采用了根植于加尔文主义基督教的“公民宗教”。美国的基督教在南北战争中反对奴隶制。林肯总统是站在宗教立场上批判奴隶制的象征性人物。我提出了一个问题，为什么南非的白人基督教没有批评种族隔离。通过分析南非荷兰归正会的资料，我可以发现美国与南非存在差异的两个主要原因。(1)对启蒙思想立场的差异；(2)对共和主义认识的差异。我想指出南非宗教的可能性和局限性，它试图通过允许多样性，同时以国家的完整性为目标，建立多元文化的国家。

I researched on today's situation of Christianity in the Republic of South Africa for 3 weeks at the School of Theology, Stellenbosch University in South Africa. Stellenbosch is the city of Afrikaners, and the School of Theology of the university has been the center of Afrikaner's Christianity, which supported Apartheid.The Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa is now trying to confess the sins during the Apartheid Era, but it is not so clear whether religion will be able to contribute to the reconstruction of South African society.The United States and South Africa are both multi-ethnic nations, and both have used "civil religion" which have the roots in Calvinistic Christianity in order to integrate the multi-ethical society. Christianity of the United States fought against slavery in Civil War. President Lincoln was the symbolic person who criticized the slavery from the standpoint of religion. I posed a question why the white Christianity of South Africa failed to criticize Apartheid.By analyzing the materials of the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa, I could find the two main reasons of the difference between the United States and South Africa.(1) the difference of the stance to the Enlightenment ideas, and (2) the difference of understanding of Republicanism.I would like to make attention to the possibility and limitation of religion in South Africa, which tries to make multi-cultural nation by allowing the diversities, and at the same time, by aiming at the integrity of the nation.