Protestantism in South Africa

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[[Image:Desmond Tutu - Kirchentag Cologne 2007 (7137).jpg|thumb|right|Former Archbishop of Cape Town Desmond Tutu (1931 - 2021), seen here speaking at the German Evangelical Church Assembly, was a prominent theologian of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa Protestantism in South Africa accounted for 73.2% of the population in 2010. [1] Approximately 81% of South Africans are Christian; 5 out of 6 Christians are Protestant (c. 36.5 million people). Later censuses do not ask for citizens’ religious affiliations. [2] Estimates from 2017 suggested that 62.5% of the population was Protestant. [3]

Contents

History

Christianity arrived in South Africa with European settlers in 1652, when the Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (the Dutch East India Company) authorized Jan van Riebeeck to establish a post to resupply ships traveling between the Netherlands and Southeast and South Asia. [4] [5] Many Dutch settlers (Boers) followed and settled in Cape Town, establishing the Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk (Dutch Reformed), which was granted exclusive rights and protection until 1806. [4] [6]

The first Christian mission at Genadendal, South Africa. Genadendal Village 07.JPG
The first Christian mission at Genadendal, South Africa.

In July 1737, the Moravian Brethren sent Georg Schmidt to South Africa as a missionary. [5] He began working with the Khoi-Khoi people, and in 1742, he baptized five Khoi-Khoi slaves. The Dutch Reformed Church, believing that baptized Christians must be free citizens and could not be slaves, forced Schmidt to leave South Africa. [4] [7] [8] Protestant mission work did not resume until 1792 when the Moravian Brethren returned. [5]

At the start of the 19th century, Christian missionaries arrived from England, Scotland, France, the US, and the Netherlands [8] to work in South Africa and to travel on to the rest of the continent.

Protestant churches in South Africa

According to the CIA Factbook, while the majority of South Africans are Protestant, no individual church predominates. The largest Protestant denomination in the country is Pentecostalism, followed by Methodism, Dutch Reformed, and Anglicans. [9]

Protestant denominations in South Africa include:

See also

Sources

References

  1. ↑ "Religions in South Africa | PEW-GRF".
  2. ↑ US State Dept 2022 report
  3. ↑ World Atlas website
  4. 1 2 3 Philip Harrison (2004). South Africa's Top Sites: Spiritual. New Africa Books. pp. 11–16. ISBN   978-0-86486-564-9.
  5. 1 2 3 Marie-Claude Mosimann-Barbier (2014). From Béarn to Southern Africa or The Amazing Destiny of Eugène Casalis. Cambridge Scholars. pp. 10–12. ISBN   978-1-4438-6081-9.
  6. ↑ Erwin Fahlbusch (2008). The Encyclodedia of Christianity. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. pp. 131–134. ISBN   978-0-8028-2417-2.
  7. ↑ The first missionary arrives at the Cape South African History (2011)
  8. 1 2 Carol Ann Muller (2004). South African Music: A Century of Traditions in Transformation. ABC-CLIO. pp. 191–192. ISBN   978-1-57607-276-9.
  9. ↑ "South Africa's people". Pocket Guide to South Africa (2011/2012 ed.). Government of South Africa. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 October 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2012.

Further reading

C. Jeannerat, D. Péclard & E. Morier-Genoud, Embroiled. Swiss churches, South Africa and Apartheid, Berlin: LIT Verlag (Coll. “Schweizerische Afrikastudien/Études africaines suisses”), 2011

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