Conversion, crisis, and growth : the religious management of change within the St John's Apostolic Faith Mission and the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Cape Town, South Africa

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dc.contributor.advisorChidester, Daviden_ZA
dc.contributor.authorMasondo, Sibusiso Theophilusen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2014-10-25T18:57:43Z
dc.date.available2014-10-25T18:57:43Z
dc.date.issued2001en_ZA
dc.descriptionBibliography: p. 229-245.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractThis thesis defines conversion as a process of change management. Individuals and groups mobilise resources and formulate strategies for individual identity and group formation. Strategies are also formulated to manage the process of change for members. In the research done among two churches, one conventionally classified as African indigenous and the other classified as mainline, two models of conversion emerged, the crisis model at St John's and the growth model at the Reformed Presbyterian Church (RPCSA). In the crisis model individuals join the group because of some crisis in their lives, e.g., illness or misfortune. The healing practices and rituals serve to manage and mediate the crisis for individuals. Healing is at the heart of the recruitment strategy at St John's and other African Indigenous Churches (AICs). It is through hearing about the efficacy of the healing powers of the leader that people are attracted to the church. On the other hand, the growth model as represented by the RPCSA, is about organic growth and development where new members are mostly recruited among the children of members. Children are groomed from baptism through Sunday school and confirmation classes to membership in full communion. For them conversion is a process of growth and development, where they keep on learning all the time about their faith and who they are. In scholarship the AICs have always been treated ethnographically while, on the other hand, the mainline churches have been treated historically. However, this thesis is a comparative study of the AIC and a mainline church with a special emphasis on their conceptions of conversion. The two churches are both African and Christian. They each draw from both these resources for self-definition. Christianity has become part of the South African religious landscape. None of the members in the two churches consider it as an alien or foreign religion but they consider it as an indigenous one. The two models mobilise resources and formulate strategies for self-definition and what it means to be human in a hostile environment.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationMasondo, S. T. (2001). <i>Conversion, crisis, and growth : the religious management of change within the St John's Apostolic Faith Mission and the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Cape Town, South Africa</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Religious Studies. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/8770en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationMasondo, Sibusiso Theophilus. <i>"Conversion, crisis, and growth : the religious management of change within the St John's Apostolic Faith Mission and the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Cape Town, South Africa."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Religious Studies, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/8770en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationMasondo, S. 2001. Conversion, crisis, and growth : the religious management of change within the St John's Apostolic Faith Mission and the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Cape Town, South Africa. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Masondo, Sibusiso Theophilus AB - This thesis defines conversion as a process of change management. Individuals and groups mobilise resources and formulate strategies for individual identity and group formation. Strategies are also formulated to manage the process of change for members. In the research done among two churches, one conventionally classified as African indigenous and the other classified as mainline, two models of conversion emerged, the crisis model at St John's and the growth model at the Reformed Presbyterian Church (RPCSA). In the crisis model individuals join the group because of some crisis in their lives, e.g., illness or misfortune. The healing practices and rituals serve to manage and mediate the crisis for individuals. Healing is at the heart of the recruitment strategy at St John's and other African Indigenous Churches (AICs). It is through hearing about the efficacy of the healing powers of the leader that people are attracted to the church. On the other hand, the growth model as represented by the RPCSA, is about organic growth and development where new members are mostly recruited among the children of members. Children are groomed from baptism through Sunday school and confirmation classes to membership in full communion. For them conversion is a process of growth and development, where they keep on learning all the time about their faith and who they are. In scholarship the AICs have always been treated ethnographically while, on the other hand, the mainline churches have been treated historically. However, this thesis is a comparative study of the AIC and a mainline church with a special emphasis on their conceptions of conversion. The two churches are both African and Christian. They each draw from both these resources for self-definition. Christianity has become part of the South African religious landscape. None of the members in the two churches consider it as an alien or foreign religion but they consider it as an indigenous one. The two models mobilise resources and formulate strategies for self-definition and what it means to be human in a hostile environment. DA - 2001 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2001 T1 - Conversion, crisis, and growth : the religious management of change within the St John's Apostolic Faith Mission and the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Cape Town, South Africa TI - Conversion, crisis, and growth : the religious management of change within the St John's Apostolic Faith Mission and the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Cape Town, South Africa UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/8770 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/8770
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationMasondo ST. Conversion, crisis, and growth : the religious management of change within the St John's Apostolic Faith Mission and the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Cape Town, South Africa. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Religious Studies, 2001 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/8770en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Religious Studiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherReligious Studiesen_ZA
dc.titleConversion, crisis, and growth : the religious management of change within the St John's Apostolic Faith Mission and the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Cape Town, South Africaen_ZA
dc.typeDoctoral Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelDoctoral
dc.type.qualificationnamePhDen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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