The political function of some religious movements in South Africa
Date
1972-08
Authors
Schutte, A.G.
Journal Title
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Abstract
A title such as the above conveys some general meaning. The
statement: ' The church has a profound influence on South African
political life' is fairly evident and may mean changing,
reinforcing or manipulating the established political order.
It may even mean working towards the abolishment of this
order. It is in this relatively neutral sense the term:
‘function’ will be used below.
The interrelationship between politics and religion found in
the Church - State relationship is usually institutionalized.
Emergent religious movements have not reached the degree of
institutionalization of a church. Consequently their relationship
with the governing body will not yet be routinized. Yet
they may have a profound influence in challenging the legitimacy
of established political authority. We therefore have to
postulate a much more general use of the word 'function' which
possibly includes 'disfunction' and non-institutionalized
elements. When speaking of ‘function’ we are furthermore dealing
with the political consequences of social action by religious bodies
This raises the problem of the orientation of social action. Is
it consciously directed towards the sphere of politics or do the
actions performed have unintended political consequences?
In order to answer this question it is essential to differentiate
between 'function' and 'intent' of social action. These concepts
represent two different perspectives on social action.
'Function' indicates an interrelationship objectivated by the
scientist, whereas 'intend' in a sociological sense, reflects
the expectations an actor has of the effects of his own action.
When 'function' overlaps with 'intent', a certain action has
intended consequences, or, in Merton's terms, (1) a manifest function.
When this is not the case, the consequences are unintended and
the function latent. Intent, as noted, refers to the effects/
consequences of the action performed. In Alfred Schutz's (2)
terms intent would include a projection of a future state to be
achieved. This state is envisaged by the actor in terms of a completed action.
Description
African Studies Seminar series. Paper presented August 1972
Keywords
Church and state. South Africa, Religion and politics. South Africa