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

在当代南非社会和经济分化严重的背景下，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奖学金研究了一个跨大西洋的新教信仰愈合运动称为犹太复国主义的民主资源。我表明，在美国和南非，犹太复国主义教会一直青睐的工人阶级的个人边缘化的那些在权力和谁，在他们的转换到犹太复国主义，发现新的可能性，自我主张。例如，它的教义鼓励信徒避开医疗专业人员的专业知识，而赞成普通人的简单祈祷。到了世纪初，犹太复国主义通过美国传教士传到了南非。它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南非黑人中取得了巨大的成功，这些黑人在种族隔离国家的限制下寻求地位和尊严。虽然犹太复国主义运动在美国衰落，但今天它是南非最大的宗教团体，拥有超过1200万信徒。我认为犹太复国主义继续有力地塑造了当代南非平等社会的愿景。在南非进行研究时，我遇到了获奖摄影师Sabelo Mlangeni，他本人是一个终身的犹太复国主义信徒。在过去的一年里，我和Mlangeni提出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，展出Mlangeni关于当代犹太复国主义者的60张黑白白色照片。展览将题为Amakholwa，isiZulu为'信徒'。这些照片突出了犹太复国主义信徒之间亲密、深情的关系。Mlangeni使用特写视角和正面肖像来描绘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性质;它们将“信徒”描绘为一群人，其中牧师等级制度基本上是不可见的。总的感觉是年轻男女的横向聚会。通过这种方式，Mlangeni的照片参与了我的研究，探索宗教信仰在超越社会分歧方面的重要性，通过将个人重新构建为“信徒”，消除阶级，种族和社会经济地位的前划分。在与项目合作伙伴WAM的交谈中，我确定了四个用户群体，他们将从创造性地参与展览和支持展览的研究中受益。其中包括1000名中学生，200名犹太复国主义信徒，40名摄影学生和至少3000名约翰内斯堡公众。关于学校的受众，我们已经确定需要对犹太复国主义在公共领域的作用进行高质量的讨论，因为这在宗教教育课程中基本上是不存在的。第二种观众-犹太复国主义信徒-将受益于他们的宗教身份的视觉表示，由一个'内部'的声音，如姆兰盖尼。犹太复国主义者将通过参与展览的文字板和目录来增加他们对自己起源的了解。南非的摄影专业学生需要学习摄影实践和宗教生活描绘之间的交叉点，而南非公众将受益于对犹太复国主义等宗教团体（在国家媒体中几乎没有报道）超越社会分歧的重要性的深思熟虑的评论。这四位观众将通过参观、摄影工作坊和参与与展览动态互动的宗教仪式来参与。将通过后续调查问卷、焦点小组和媒体监测来评估受众的参与情况。

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.