A Case of Pastoral Myopia? The South African Church's Ambiguous Response to the Erosion of Family Life in the Early Years of the Migrant Labor System

Abstract

The article looks into the response of religious authorities including White missionaries, Black ministers and leaders of African independent churches to the erosion of family life in the early years of the migrant labor system in southern Africa. It explores the 1902 Treaty of Vereeniging, that put an end to the South African War, and the Native Labour Regulation Act in 1911. It argues that missionaries and church leaders were trapped in the ambiguities and paradoxes of conquest and modernity.