Why colonial Christian churches are being rejected

There has been a steady decline in membership of ‘mainline’ Christian churches

- DION FORSTER

STUDIES show that South Africa is one of only three countries in the world where religious participation has increased in recent years. The other two countries are Italy and the US.

The 2022 Census data show that South Africa's Christian adherence has once again increased. However, the kinds of Christianity that are growing, and those that are declining, tell us some interesting things about the religious, cultural, social and political sentiments of South Africans. Only 2.9% of the population claimed to have no religious views at all - this means that 96.1% of South Africans profess or practise some form of faith. Even though Covid-19 restrictions meant a 31% undercount in the 2022 census, the trends are clear.

Christianity is the most popular religious affiliation, with 85.3% of South Africans identifying as Christian of some kind or another. One simply needs to drive through any city or town in South Africa to see the diversity of “Christianities” on display. They range from cathedrals to store-front “miracle centres” to African indigenous communities worshipping in nature.

While there are some similarities in their general beliefs, one would hardly be able to say what a west African styled neo-Pentecostal community has in common with, for example, a Dutch Reformed church group. Or the beliefs of members of the Zion Christian Church (ZCC). They may all be labelled as Christian, but their beliefs and practices seem worlds apart.