FAITH-BASED ORGANISATIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF SOCIAL WELFARE AND DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA: TOWARDS A CONCEPTUALISATION
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15270/45-2-210Abstract
In South Africa the state strongly expects the religious sector – or more specifically thecollectivity of faith-based organisations constituting this sector – to make a meaningful
contribution towards the country’s struggle against poverty and HIV and AIDS (Koegelenberg,
2001, 2007; Swart, 2008). The debate on the role and contribution of faith-based organisations
(hereafter FBOs) in social welfare and social development is not unique to South Africa,
however, and has been conducted in other parts of the world for the last decade or more
(Cameron, 2004; Cnaan, Farnell, 2001; Jeavons, 2004; Netting, 1984; Netting, Thibault &
Ellor, 1990:17; Smith, 2002; Wineburg & Boddie, 1999; Yeung, 2003). Although the debate
has been going on for quite some time, generally speaking the terms “religious sector” and
“faith-based organisations” are still used in a vague and unfocused sense in the literature and no
widely accepted definition can be found. This causes confusion about exactly what kinds of
organisation are being referred to (Netting, 2004:136; Sider & Unruh, 2004:109).
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