https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/2739 Sat, 02 May 2026 03:28:34 GMT 2026-05-02T03:28:34Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32178 Missiological study on perception of ancestral veneration and death among the Iteso Adventistists - Kenya Ambuchi, Alex O. The study examined why ancestor veneration remains active and persuasive among Iteso Adventists in Kenya, and how beliefs about the dead continue to shape responses to death, illness, and social insecurity. The research took place in Teso North, Amagoro sub-county (Busia County) using an ethnographic missiological approach, drawing on participant observation, structured interviews, and focus groups with both Adventist and non-Adventist participants in five town centres. Data were analysed using content, narrative, and grounded theory methods to interpret the theological, social, and missiological implications. Findings show that ancestor veneration among Iteso Adventists is not just a leftover “traditional” habit. It functions as a living moral and cosmological system. Death is not seen as the end of personal agency, but as transition. It is widely claimed that “the dead are not dead”; rather, they remain present in the household, capable of influence, approval, and punishment. This is expressed in concrete ritual: food and other offerings are made to the dead, graves are visited and supplied, and misfortune or sickness is commonly interpreted as ancestral displeasure. Clergy and lay members alike explained illness in some cases as a sign that the ancestors must be appeased. Ancestors are understood as morally qualified elders who continue to oversee family well-being, fertility, social order, and conflict resolution. They are treated as domesticated spirits within the kin network, to whom the living owe honour, obedience, and periodic consultation. This relationship is seen as a reciprocal economy of protection and loyalty, not as “worship of demons,” and it normalises ongoing interaction with the dead as rational social insurance. The persistence of these practices inside an Adventist community that officially rejects them is driven by three reinforcing factors. First is ontological continuity: the line between living and dead is not final, only a shift in status within the same family, so kin obligations extend past biological death. Second is social and spiritual insurance: in a context of sickness, uncertainty, and vulnerability, ritual attention to the ancestors is experienced as a prudent strategy for securing protection, not as idolatry. Third is moral authority: the ancestor embodies accumulated wisdom, longevity, and seniority, and therefore remains a binding source of guidance and discipline. Ignoring such a figure is felt as rejecting communal ethics and even threatening family unity. These pressures remain powerful for Adventist converts, who are still embedded in Iteso kinship systems that regulate burial, naming, healing, and obligations to the dead. Syncretism, therefore, is not simply “weak doctrine”; it is also a survival strategy within tightly woven social structures. In light of this, the study argues that Adventist mission cannot rely only on condemnation of ancestral rites. Ancestor veneration persists because it gives moral order, interpretive clarity, and emotional security in crisis, and because it is fused with memory and kinship. The recommendation is that Adventist ministry among the Iteso must be biblically authoritative and culturally literate. Clergy should teach Scripture as the final reference for death, memory, and authority, insisting that loyalty, protection, and intercession belong to Christ alone, not to the ancestors. They should also present a clear, contextual theology of death, hope, and resurrection that speaks directly to fear of ancestral anger, sickness, and post-mortem presence. Finally, local congregations must provide practical solidarity in moments of illness, bereavement, and material vulnerability, so that the believer experiences the body of Christ, rather than ancestral ritual, as the first line of help and protection. Tue, 11 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32178 2025-11-11T00:00:00Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32118 Exploring the resilience of religious belief : cognitive, cultural and historical perspectives Faull, Hester Margaretha This thesis investigates the foundations of religious beliefs and their persistence in contemporary society through a systematic literature review. It examines how cognitive predispositions (mentalising, anthropomorphism, teleological thinking) and biological factors (genetics, brain structure, neurochemistry) shape the formation of religious beliefs, which are then influenced by cultural forces. The Cognitive Science of Religion provides insights into how cognitive biases reinforce misleading beliefs. This thesis proposes promoting logic education to foster rational thought and critical engagement as a countermeasure. Although rational inquiry is crucial in a world saturated with information, for some, scientific discoveries may not offer the same sense of wonder, meaning, or purpose that religious beliefs have historically provided. This explains the continued endurance of such belief systems alongside scientific progress. As scientific advancements challenge traditional sources of meaning, individuals struggle with the existential question of purpose. In such a context, this thesis argues for prioritising individual freedom in seeking meaning. Finally, the thesis contends that although some aspects of metaphysics may transcend empirical methods, this does not preclude evidence-based research from engaging with supernatural claims. Society must strive to balance the pursuit of objective knowledge with preserving cultural richness and existential fulfilment. Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMT https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32118 2024-10-01T00:00:00Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/31701 A postcolonial missiological understanding of the role of the church towards sex workers : a proposed liberative praxis for URCSA Mangoedi, Leomile This study probes the issue of the marginalisation of women in sex work by the church with the aim of developing a liberative praxis for the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA) based on the research question: How can a postcolonial reading of the Bible shape the church’s missionary praxis towards the liberation of sex workers? Sex workers are judged morally while sex work is identified as sin by the church. Apart from a re-reading of the text of Luke 7:36-40, the researcher also critically analyses the current missional praxis of the URCSA, engaging texts such as the Bible, the Church Order and the Confessions, especially the Confession of Belhar. The aim is to uncover how the URCSA reads and interprets these texts especially in the context of the marginalised. As a missiologist coming from a certain ecclesiological, theological, and cultural backround, I unpacked the discussion by employing the missiological framework using the praxis matrix model to carry out a postcolonial reading of the Bible. The aim is to address the primary rationale of this thesis namely, to create a respectful, hopeful, liberative encounter between Black women in sex work and the church that is silent in the face of their marginalisation. In addressing the rationale and ultimately responding to the research question, an attempt is made to unmask the influence of the colonial reading of the Bible on the black church, because such a reading disempowered and oppressed the people. The employ of the Contextual Bible Study method enabled the creation of a platform for engagement between women in sex work and the Bible. The study is not only engaging the Bible, but it also, formed a creative dialogue between other scholarships such as womanist theologies, feminist theologies and bosadi/womanhood redefined biblical hermeutics and these women. This study thus proposes a Belharic missiological postcolonial reading of the Bible that aims at liberating, restoring, and transforming the lives of women in sex work. It presupposes that the Bible should be read and interpreted from the experiences of poverty, abuse, inequality – from the perspective of marginalised black women. Sat, 23 Dec 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/31701 2023-12-23T00:00:00Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/31688 Integration in intercultural church development : Luhmann´s systems theory for the leadership of Evangelical free churches in Germany Littau, Manuel This research is based on the leaders of intercultural congregations who regularly interact with the ideas, needs and interests of different cultures. To this end, Luhmann's systems theory is being examined with regard to the intercultural congregation, the integration of different cultures and leadership in intercultural congregations. The result of the interdisciplinary research work can serve to remind us that leadership is an interactive relationship process. Leaders influence congregations while they are themselves influenced by the Holy Spirit, other cultures, and by their own perceptions. This understanding reveals the role of leaders to be a flexible, culturally sensitive one with leaders being individuals who are also willing to learn. This research, which is a first, analysed the application of Luhmann's systems theory on the leadership of intercultural congregations in Germany. It is primary research within the context of the Evangelical free churches. In practical terms, the research results may contribute to the analysis of the intercultural congregation, to the self-reflection of the leaders and to intercultural dialogue.; Hierdie navorsing is gebaseer op die leiers van interkulturele gemeentes wat gereeld te doen het met die idees, behoeftes en belange van verskillende kulture. Met hierdie doelwit voor oë word Luhmann se stelselteorie ondersoek wat betref die interkulturele gemeenskap, die integrasie van verskillende kulture en leierskap in interkulturele gemeentes. Die uitkoms van die interdissiplinêre navorsingswerk kan dien om ons te herinner dat leierskap ’n interaktiewe verhoudingsproses is. Leiers beïnvloed gemeentes terwyl hulle self deur die Heilige Gees, ander kulture en deur hulle eie waarnemings beïnvloed word. Hierdie verstandhouding openbaar die rol van leiers as ’n buigsame, kultureel sensitiewe rol met leiers wat individue is wat gewillig is om te leer. Hierdie navorsing, wat die eerste oor hierdie onderwerp is, het die toepassing van Luhmann se stelselteorie op die leierskap van interkulturele gemeentes in Duitsland ontleed. Dit is primêre navorsing in die konteks van die Vrye Evangeliese Kerke. Prakties gesproke kan die navorsingsresultate bydra tot die ontleding van die interkulturele gemeente, tot die selfrefleksie van die leiers, en tot interkulturele dialoog.; Thodisiso iyi yo disendeka nga vharangaphanda vha zwivhidzo zwa mvelele vha dzulelaho u mbilimbidanana na mihumbulo ya thodea na madzangalelo a mvelelo dzo fhambanaho. U swika zwino, sisiteme ya thyeori ya Luhmann i kha di tolwa mayelana na zwivhidzo zwa mvelele dzo tanganelanaho, thanganyiso ya mvelele dzo fhambanaho na vhurangaphanda kha zwivhidzo zwa mvelele dzo tanganelanaho. Mvelele dza thodisiso dza masia o tanganelanaho dzi nga shuma u ri humbudza uri vhurangaphanda ndi mushumo wa vhushaka ha tshumisano. Vharangaphanda vha tutuwedza zwivhidzo musi vhone vha khou tutuwedzwa nga Muya mukhethwa, dziṅwe mvelele na nga kuvhonele kwavho. Kupfesesele ukwu ku bvisela khagala mushumo wa vharangaphanda u shandukaho, u pfesesaho mvelele hu na murangaphanda muthihi kha vhathu vho diimiselaho u guda. Thodisiso iyi ndi ya u thoma, yo saukanya u itela tshumiso nga thyeori ya sisiteme ya Luhmann ya vhurangaphanda ha zwivhidzo zwa mvelele dzo tanganelanaho ngei Dzheremane. Ndi thodisiso khulwane kha nyimele ya kereke dzo vhofholowaho kha Evangeli. Zwavhudivhudi, mvelele dza thodisiso dzi nga dzhenelela kha u saukanya tshivhidzo tsha mvelele dzo tanganaho, u disedzulusa sa vharangaphanda na therisano vhukati ha mvelele; Diese Forschungsarbeit geht von den Leitenden interkultureller Gemeinden aus, die mit den Vorstellungen, Bedurfnissen und Interessen der unterschiedlichen Kulturen umgehen müssen. Dafür wird die Systemtheorie Luhmanns hinsichtlich der interkulturellen Gemeinde, der Integration unterschiedlicher Kulturen und der Leitung in interkulturellen Gemeinden untersucht. Das Ergebnis der interdisziplinaren Forschungsarbeit erinnert daran, dass Leitung ein interaktives Beziehungsgeschehen ist. Die Leitenden nehmen Einfluss und werden selbst vom Heiligen Geist, anderen Kulturen und der eigenen Wahrnehmung beeinflusst. Aus diesem Verstandnis erschließt sich die Rolle der Leitenden, die flexibel, kultursensibel und lernbereit leiten. Diese Forschungsarbeit ist ein erstes Ergebnis für die Anwendung von Luhmanns Systemtheorie auf die Leitung interkultureller Gemeinden in Deutschland und fur den Kontext der evangelischen Freikirchen eine Primarforschung. Praktisch kann das Forschungsergebnis zur Analyse der interkulturellen Gemeinde, zur Selbstreflexion der Leitenden und zum interkulturellen Dialog beitragen. Abstract in English, Germany, Venda and Afrikaans; Title in English and Germany Thu, 01 Feb 2024 00:00:00 GMT https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/31688 2024-02-01T00:00:00Z