Old and New Alliances: Christian churches and the African National Congress in South Africa

The history of how religion shaped politics during and after the Apartheid era in South Africa, and vice versa how politics shaped religion itself, still need to be written in full. As this relationship changed and transformed across decades and through different political settlements, from Apartheid to the democratic transition to contemporary post-Apartheid, this chapter will explore the dynamic relationship between different Christian churches and the ANC across time. In doing so the chapter will highlight the importance of understanding the interconnective and evolving relations between religion and party politics in a country in which religion plays a major role in shaping society and visions for the future, and where the ruling party, at certain times, had tried to co-opt and develop preferential relationships with certain religious groups at the expense of others.