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Cultural Beliefs, Witchcraft and Crimes in South Africa

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Religion, Faith and Crime

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Abstract

Generally, crime has often been understood and explained in relation to the dynamics within societies. These dynamics may include political, economic and social dimensions. However, in some cases, acts that may be defined as criminal may also be linked to specific cultural beliefs, which lead to complexities in the clear articulation of such acts as crimes. The relationship between certain acts perceived as crimes, and the cultural beliefs that inform them, or that serve as possible motives for them, illustrates the difficulty in applying a generalised understanding of crime across all social or cultural contexts.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Fort Hare, Fort Hare, South Africa

    Theodore Petrus

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  1. Theodore Petrus
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Applied Social Sciences, De Montfort University, LE1 9BH, United Kingdom

    Kim Sadique

  2. School of Applied Social Sciences, De Montfort University, LE1 9BH, United Kingdom

    Perry Stanislas

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© 2016 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s)

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Petrus, T. (2016). Cultural Beliefs, Witchcraft and Crimes in South Africa. In: Sadique, K., Stanislas, P. (eds) Religion, Faith and Crime. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-45620-5_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-45620-5_7

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-45619-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-45620-5

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