FAITH AND RECONCILIATION: COMPARATIVE INSIGHTS FROM SOUTH AFRICA AND RWANDA

Monica MERUȚIU

doi:10.24193/subbeuropaea.2025.2.11

Authors

Monica MERUȚIU International Relations and German Studies Department, at the Faculty of European Studies, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. E-mail: monica.merutiu@ubbcluj.ro https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8446-0041

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24193/subbeuropaea.2025.2.11

Keywords:

Faith leaders, Conflict resolution, Christianity, South Africa, Rwanda

Abstract

This article examines the role of faith leadership and religious institutions in post-conflict reconciliation, using South Africa and Rwanda as comparative case studies. It highlights how the moral authority, credibility, and ethical integrity of church leaders can significantly influence post-conflict social reconstruction and healing. In South Africa, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, guided by the moral leadership of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, exemplified how faith-informed approaches, grounded in restorative justice and the principle of ubuntu, can foster dialogue, forgiveness, and national reconciliation. In contrast, in Rwanda, churches were implicated in the 1994 genocide, undermining their legitimacy and limiting the effectiveness of faith-based reconciliation efforts. The reconciliation processes of South Africa and Rwanda underscore the potential of faith leadership in guiding societies through division and trauma.

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