The Kairos document, church(es), Christianity and the liberation struggle in South Africa during the 1980s: A reappraisal
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.38140/ijss-2025.vol5.2.03Keywords:
Kairos document, radical theology, state theology, liberation struggle, contextual theology, ChristianityAbstract
This article offers a critical reappraisal of the Kairos Document (1985) within the broader context of Christianity and the liberation struggle in South Africa during the 1980s. The 1980s in South Africa was a decade of intense political repression, during which theological involvement in the struggle also took centre stage. Thus, the Kairos Document (KD) represented a radical theological intervention that challenged both the moral legitimacy of apartheid and the complicity of mainstream church structures. It drew its strength from liberation and contextual theology. As shown in this article, the KD distinguished between 'State Theology', 'Church Theology', and 'Prophetic Theology'. This approach urged Christian communities in the black townships across the country to adopt a praxis-oriented stance in solidarity with the oppressed. It is within this context that the article revisits the historical genesis of the KD, its theological underpinnings, and its reception among various ecclesial bodies, including ecumenical and denominational responses. Furthermore, it highlights tensions between the apartheid-institutionalised religious dogmas and anti-apartheid grassroots activism. The enduring legacy of the KD in post-apartheid theological discourse is also scrutinised. The article contributes to a more complex understanding of the intersection by placing the text within both its immediate socio-political environment of the 1980s and its enduring theological influence regarding faith, justice, and resistance in the country's struggle for liberation. The article employs Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to interrogate the discursive strategies and ideological constructions embedded within the KD.
References
Adam, H., & Moodley, K. (1986). South Africa without apartheid: Dismantling racial domination. Maskew Miller Longman.
Barger, L. C. (2018). The world comes of age: An intellectual history of liberation theology. Oxford University Press.
Boesak, A. A. (2012). Kairos, crisis, and global apartheid: The challenge to prophetic resistance. Springer.
Chikane, F. (1990). No life of my own: An autobiography. Skotaville Publishers.
Chino, T. J. (2023). Liberating God: Human freedom in Barth and Cone. Black Theology: An International Journal, 1(1), 1-2. https://doi.org/10.1080/14769948.2023.2223082
Cormick, D. (2012). A response to a new Kairos Document: A word of the ANC in these times. Diakonia Council of Churches.
De Gruchy, J. (1979). The church struggle in South Africa. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
De Gruchy, J. (1995). Christianity and democracy: Theology for a just world order. Cambridge University Press.
De Gruchy, J. (2016). Kairos moments and prophetic witness: Towards a prophetic ecclesiology. HTS Theological Studies, 72(4), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v72i4.3414
Denis, P. (2016). Timeboundness and prophetism in the theology of Albert Nolan. Journal of Theology for Southern Africa, 156, 5-19.
Denis, P. (2017). The authorship and composition circumstances of the Kairos Document. Journal of Theology for Southern Africa, 158(2), 14-7.
Dolamo, R. T. (2017). The legacy of Black Consciousness: Its continual relevance for democratic South Africa and its significance for theological education. HTS Theological Studies, 73(3), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v73i3.4587
Du Toit, C. (2008). Black consciousness as an expression of radical responsibility: Biko an African Bonhoeffer. Religion & Theology, 15(1), 33.
De Gruchy, J. W. (1997). The church struggle in South Africa (2nd ed.). Fortress Press.
Fortein, E. A. (2019). Where have all the prophets gone? URCSA 25 years later: Re-acquainting with prophetic theology in post-apartheid South Africa. Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae, 45(3), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.25159/2412-4265/6226
Goba, B. (1986). The Black Consciousness Movement: Its impact on Black Theology. In I. J. Mosala & B. Tlhagale (Eds.), The unquestionable right to be free: Black theology from South Africa. Orbis Books.
Goba, B. (1987). The Kairos Document and its implications for liberation in South Africa. Journal of Law and Religion, 5(2), 313.
Johnson, M. N. P., & McLean, E. (2020). Discourse analysis. International Encyclopedia of Human Geography.
Kairos Theologians. (1985). The Kairos Document: Challenge to the church – A theological comment on the political crisis in South Africa. Johannesburg: Kairos Theologians.
Khabela, G. (1992). A seamless garment: Tutu’s understanding of the role of the church in South Africa [Doctoral dissertation, Union Theological Seminary].
Kretzchmar, L. (1986). The voice of Black theology in South Africa. Ravan Press.
Kritzinger, J. N. J. (2013). Discourses on public theology in post-apartheid South Africa. HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies, 69(1), 1–6.
Le Bruyns, C. (2015). The rebirth of Kairos theology and its implications for public theology and citizenship in South Africa. Missionalia, 43(3), 460–477.
Lichtman, M. (2013). Qualitative research in education. Sage Publications.
Mabuza, W. M. (2010). Kairos revisited: Investigating the relevance of the Kairos Document for church-state relations within a democratic South Africa [Doctoral dissertation, University of Pretoria].
Mabuza, W. M. (2025). Keeping the spirit of Kairos alive: Where is the church in the democratic South Africa? Pietermaritzburg: NF Saliwa Publishing.
Macqueen, I. M. (2018). Black consciousness and progressive movements under apartheid. University of KwaZulu-Natal Press.
Mosala, I. (1987). Black theology versus the social morality of settler colonialism: Hermeneutical reflections on Luke 1 and 2. Journal of Black Theology, 1(1), 1–2.
Mukuka, T. (2012). Reading/hearing Romans 13:1-7 under an African tree: Towards a lectio postcolonica contexta Africana. Neotestamentica, 46(1), 107.
Munro, W. (1990). Romans 13:1-7: Apartheid’s last biblical refuge. Biblical Theology Bulletin, 20(4), 163–165.
Nel, D. J. (1988). The Kairos Document—a call to conversion. Missionalia: Southern African Journal of Mission Studies, 16(1/3), 127.
Nel, B. (1994). The story of Black theology of liberation in South Africa. In I. Liebenberg, B. Nel, F. Lortan, & G. van der Westhuizen (Eds.), The long march: The story of the struggle for liberation in South Africa (p. 138). Penrose Book Printers.
Nelson, J. (2002/3). The role the Dutch Reformed Church played in the rise and fall of apartheid. Journal of Hate Studies, 2(1), 63–72.
Ngcokovane, C. M. (1987). The social-cultural analysis of the origins and development of Black Theology. Journal of Black Theology, 1(1), 19.
Noble, T., & Jandejsek, P. (2020). Personal and common good – Personal and common evil: Liberation theology perspectives. European Journal for Philosophy and Religion, 12(4), 45-62. https://doi.org/10.24204/ejpr.v12i4.3527
Nolan, A. (1988). God in South Africa: The challenge of the gospel. David Philip Publishers.
Ramalho, W. (2020). Historical time between Chronos and Kairos: On the historicity of The Kairos Document manifesto, South Africa, 1985. Rethinking History, 24(3/4), 465–467. https://doi.org/10.1080/13642529.2020.1831351
Resane, K. T. (2021). Black consciousness, black nationalism and black theology: Is there a possibility for theology of dialogue? HTS Theological Studies, 77(3), 1-9. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4502-4933
Resane, K. T. (2024). Black consciousness and black theology: Di ya thoteng di bapile (relationship for liberation). HTS Theological Studies, 80(2), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v80i2.9001
Schliesser, C. (2022). The road to reconciliation – Insights from Christian public theology. Religious, 13(3), 234. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13030230
Solomons, D. J. (2020). Re-examining a theology of reconciliation: What we learn from the Kairos Document and its pedagogical implications. HTS Theological Studies, 76(1), 118.
Solomons, D. J. (2021). Beyond nostalgia in the search for identity: Black liberation theology and the politics of reconciliation. HTS Theological Studies, 77(3), 6722. https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v77i3.6722
Sparks, M. (1995, July 27). Now, beyond Kairos. The Daily News, 25.
Suderman, A. S. (2017). In search of prophetic theology: South African political theology in conversation with Anabaptism [Doctoral dissertation, University of KwaZulu-Natal].
Van Aarde, T. (2016). Black theology in South Africa: A theology of human dignity and black identity. HTS Theological Studies, 72(1), 1-13.
Van Kessel, I. (2000). ‘Beyond our wildest dreams’: The United Democratic Front and the transformation of South Africa. University Press of Virginia.
Vellem, V. S. (2010). Prophetic theology in black theology, with special reference to the Kairos Document. HTS Theological Studies, 66(1), 1–15.
Villa-Vicencio, C. (1987). Law and state illegitimacy: An agenda for theologians and lawyers. Journal of Law and Religion, 5(2), 241–257.
Villa-Vicencio, C. (1988). Trapped in apartheid: A socio-theological history of the English-speaking churches. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books; Cape Town: David Philip.
Villa-Vicencio, C. (1992). A theology of reconstruction: Nation-building and human rights. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
West, G. (2025). Biblical hermeneutics as a site of struggle: South African sites of contestation in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Scriptura, 124(1), 1-18. http://dx.doi.org/10.7833/124-1-2266
Zondi, S. (2010). Of faith and action: Aspects of the role of faith institutions in the struggle against apartheid. In S. M. Ndlovu (Ed.), The road to democracy in South Africa, SADET, Vol. 4, Part 2 (1980-1990). UNISA Press.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Thembani Gxhaweni, Chitja Twala
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
