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Interpersonal and Social Reconciliation: Finding Congruence in African Theological Anthropology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2013

Anna Floerke Scheid
Anna Floerke Scheid
Affiliation:
Duquesne University
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Abstract

Western scholars studying post-conflict truth and reconciliation commissions often presuppose a sharp divide between interpersonal and social forgiveness and reconciliation. This leads some to question and critique commissions that seek to promote forgiveness and reconciliation at both the interpersonal and the social levels. This project contends that the problem these scholars perceive may be based upon a dichotomy between the individual and the community that is absent in communitarian cultures. African theological anthropologies based on the notions of palaver and ubuntu illustrate that the human person is profoundly formed and preserved by the community, which sustains the individual through the promotion of certain ethical standards. In this context, expressions of interpersonal forgiveness and reconciliation have social ramifications. Cross-cultural discussion with African theologians thus re-situates this debate. African theological anthropology demonstrates the congruence among interpersonal and social expressions of forgiveness and reconciliation based in the community's commitment to the common good.

Type
Articles
Information
Horizons , Volume 39 , Issue 1 , Spring 2012 , pp. 27 - 49
Copyright
Copyright © The College Theology Society 2012

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References

1 It is important to note that anthropology and cultural studies emphasizes the hybridity of cultures. Cultures intermingle such that it is imprecise to refer to “Western” or “African” culture as though these have a pure internal unity that is separate from other cultures. Moreover, African theologians from across the continent have been quick to remind their North American and European counterparts that Africa itself is rather diverse and not culturally homogenous. Nevertheless, in this article the terms “Western” and “African” function heuristically as Weberian ideal types to help clarify real differences in approaches to forgiveness and reconciliation. I do not intend to suggest a perfect unity or pureness to either Western or African culture. My thanks to an anonymous reviewer for assistance in articulating this point.

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7 That is not to say that individuals necessarily forgive or apologize on behalf of groups, or that groups accept forgiveness or apologies on behalf of individuals. The ethics of collective agency with regard to forgiveness and reconciliation is not my focus here. Instead, I emphasize how African anthropology extends the scope of forgiveness to encompass not only victim and perpetrator, but also the full community that has been affected by human rights violations. There are social consequences to personal acts of forgiveness.

8 Of particular importance here would be Govier's work on types of forgiveness, particularly her contributions on “invitational forgiveness” (101–03) and mutual forgiveness (103–04) in her book Taking Wrongs Seriously: Acknowledgement, Reconciliation, and the Politics of Sustainable Peace, (Amherst, NY: Humanity Books, 2006)Google Scholar. Also invaluable are Chapman's contributions to the volume that she has edited with Hugo van der Merwe, especially her consistent insistence on distinguishing between the theoretical ideal of truth-telling toward reconciliation after human rights violations versus the practical realities of such endeavors, and her observations regarding how multiple understandings of reconciliation can hinder efforts to build peace. See Truth and Reconciliation in South Africa: Did the TRC Deliver?, ed. Chapman, Audrey R. and van der Merwe, Hugo, (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008)Google Scholar.

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