Cottesloe Consultation

Cottesloe Consultation
Date December 14–17, 1960
Location Cottesloe, Johannesburg, South Africa
Cause Sharpeville massacre
Organised by World Council of Churches (WCC)
Participants All South African WCC member bodies
Outcome Cottesloe Statement

The Cottesloe Consultation was a conference held from December 14–17, 1960 in Cottesloe, a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa.[1] The immediate impetus for the consultation was the international public outcry against the Sharpeville massacre that had taken place the previous March.[2] Prior to the consultation's convening, Hendrik Verwoerd, who was Prime Minister of South Africa at the time, called the consultation "an attempt by foreigners to meddle in the country's internal affairs".[3] The consultation was sponsored by the World Council of Churches (WCC) and all of the WWC member bodies in South Africa sent ten delegates to participate in the discussion.[4] One of the delegates was German theologian Wilhelm Niesel, author of Die Theologie Calvins.[5] The consultation was organized by WCC's Robert S. Bilheimer.[6]

Anti-Discrimination and Suffrage

At the consultation, the member bodies were urged to push the government of South Africa towards greater inclusion of black people in political office.[7] The delegates agreed on the adoption of the Cottesloe Statement, which rejected unjust discrimination in various forms and made several specific resolutions with respect to such issues as freedom of religion, migrant work, and due process.[8]

Backlash

The boldest clause in the statement was the resolution that black residents of areas designated as "white" by apartheid legislation should be granted suffrage.[9] The Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) in South Africa rejected the Cottesloe Statement as too theologically liberal, despite the fact that DRC theologians had been represented at the consultation and had agreed to the statement.[10]

References

  1. ↑ John W. De Gruchy (2005). The Church Struggle in South Africa. Augsburg Fortress. p. 63. ISBN 0800637550.
  2. ↑ Wim Dreyer (2013). Marry-Anne Plaatjies-Van Huffel, Robert Vosloo, eds. "Fifty Years of Isolation: The Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk 1960-2010". Reformed Churches in South Africa and the Struggle for Justice: Remembering 1960-1990. African Sun Media: 134. ISBN 1920689109.
  3. ↑ Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela (2004). A Human Being Died that Night: A South African Woman Confronts the Legacy of Apartheid. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 155. ISBN 0618446591.
  4. ↑ Adrian Hastings (1979). A History of African Christianity 1950-1975. Cambridge University Press. p. 145. ISBN 0521293979.
  5. ↑ Robert Vosloo (2009). Johan De Niet, Hermann Paul, Bart Wallet, eds. "Calvin and Anti-Apartheid Memory". Sober, Strict, and Scriptural: Collective Memories of John Calvin, 1800-2000. Brill Publishers: 227. ISBN 9004174249.
  6. ↑ Paul Abrecht (2009). Harold C. Fey, ed. "The Development of Ecumenical Social Thought and Action". A History of the Ecumenical Movement. Wipf and Stock. 2: 245. ISBN 1606089102.
  7. ↑ Paul B. Rich (1993). Hope and Despair: English-Speaking Intellectuals and South African Politics 1896-1976. British Academic Press. p. 97. ISBN 1850434891.
  8. ↑ Stuart C. Bate (1991). Evangelisation in the South African Context. Gregorian Biblical BookShop. p. 13. ISBN 8876526358.
  9. ↑ Kenneth N. Carstens (1978). Ian Robertson, Phillip Whitten, eds. "The Churches in South Africa". Race and Politics in South Africa. Transaction Publishers: 94. ISBN 1412832616.
  10. ↑ J. Kevin Livingston (2013). A Missiology of the Road: Early Perspectives in David Bosch's Theology of Mission and Evangelism. Wipf and Stock. p. 33. ISBN 1610973879.
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