FAITH AND THE FRAGILITY OF JUSTICE, responses to gender-based violence in South Africa

212pp., paperback, Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, 2025

ISBN: 9781978838635

Given South Africa's high rates of gender-based violence, why are religious groups that famously protested the racial violence of apartheid faltering in their response to gendered violence? 

Meredith Whitnah answers this question by examining the public discourse of three Protestant Christian organizations that were adamant about a theological mandate to challenge apartheid, but have varied in their responses to gender-based violence in the democratic era.

"Whitnah offers a candid look at the role of faith-based organizations in the struggle to eradicate gender-based violence in the South African context. As evident in the title, this pursuit of justice is fragile indeed. However, Whitnah’s monograph shows how these organizations continue reinventing themselves in the pursuit of gender justice. As the battle cry resounds: a luta continua!" Juliana Claassens, Professor of Old Testament, Stellenbosch University

"Theologies are not equal in their capacity to address injustice. Whitnah's sharply analytical book reveals how theological frameworks that focus on racial justice vary in their convictions on issues of gender and helps us to better discern religion's role in both challenging and reinforcing intersecting systems of oppression, illuminating the contingent and often fragile nature of faith-based pursuits of justice." Gerardo Martí, William R. Kenan, Jr. Endowed Professor of Sociology at Davidson College

Meredith Whitnah is Associate Professor of sociology at Westmont College, California.