Religion and Racial Differences in the South

Abstract

Religion and politics were intertwined in the southern tip of Africa for many years. The white Afrikaner community had developed a worldview based on religion. All their life and political orientation was viewed in the light of the Divine. They believed that they were the recipients of a special divine dispensation that set them apart as a people. The whites believed that they had a divine right to own the land, exclude the original inhabitants, and use them as their slaves. They were fiercely attached to this religious perspective and were ready to defend it. Finally, in 1948, the policy of Apartheid was promulgated officially. This religious-political orientation had a great effect on the rest of the population of southern Africa.