Abstract
The development of Black Theology of Liberation in South Africa has evolved across different registers. A great number of Black Theologians before 1994 in South Africa were cautious in their engagement with African spirituality, although some like Simon Maimela and Desmond Tutu were open to such dialogues. Post-1994 Black Theology in South Africa has developed along different trajectories. This paper focuses on the Africanist trajectory of Black Theology of Liberation. This review attempts to expose that the trajectory of the Africanist and tradition of Black Theology of Liberation is not linear and is, in fact, different. Using the work of Vellem, Kobe, Tshaka, Kobo and Ramose, I attempt to expose the differences expressed in three different registers. This review acknowledges the theological anthropology of Black Theology of Liberation in the Africanist tradition but draws attention to addressing the question of theology proper, that is, the doctrine of God.
Contribution: This critical review contributes by drawing our attention to points required for further engagement within Black Theology of Liberation in the post-1994 era.
Keywords: Black Theology of Liberation; African Spirituality; Jesus; wholism; post-1994 South Africa.
Introduction
Black Theology in South Africa drew significant inspiration from the Black Theology movement in the United States. Motlhabi (2009) contends that while this is the case, Black Theology received another interlocutor on the shores of South Africa, and that is Black Consciousness Movement in the 1960s. Discussing the five phases of Black Theology of Liberation, Motlhabi exposes the fact that this school of thought did not have a linear trajectory. In agreement with him, it is generally my argument that Black Theology in the post-1994 era took a more Africanist approach, although it was not limited to this Africanist approach.1 This, of course, is not a negation to the various approaches to Black Theology of Liberation insofar as it refers to the self-affirmation of the oppressed, which finds inspiration in Black Consciousness philosophy. In the article, I attempt to provide a critical review of Black Theologians in a post-1994 era who I will classify in the Africanist tradition of Black Theology of Liberation. The key theologians I will focus on in this regard are Vuyani Vellem, Fundiswa Kobo, Lerato Kobe and Rothney Tshaka.2 In addition to their works, I also add Mogobe Ramose on African Philosophy to enhance the conversation of the article. This article exposes at least three registers in which Black Theology of Liberation in post-1994 is envisioned. Central to the evaluation of this article is that while all three registers are very valuable, they do not fully wrestle with the question of God within the context of epistemicide and onticide. Recognising the theological anthropological posture of Black Theology of Liberation, this article calls for attention to theology proper, which refers to the doctrine of God within the context of onticide and epistemicide in Black Theology of Liberation.
Vellem – African symbols as tools for liberative praxis
The late Vuyani Vellem was an associate professor of Black Theology of Liberation at the University of Pretoria. The central tenet of Vellem’s Black Theology of Liberation is the use of African liberative symbols. Key to Vellem’s work is the condemnation of epistemicide and onticide brought about by colonialism and racism in South Africa. The idea of liberative symbols starts in Vellem’s PhD (Vellem 2007). Vellem’s contribution to Black Theology of Liberation is the use of African symbols as liberative praxis in solidarity with the oppressed. In Vellem’s work, these liberative symbols are expressed as Imvuselelo [revival] (Vellem 2016), Serithi [human-dignity] (Vellem 2013) and Umoya [spirit] (Vellem 2017). What should be crucial to note in this regard is that Vellem’s discourse is Christian. Although he makes use of these African symbols as tools for liberative praxis, Vellem engages these concepts using concepts in the Bible. Vellem’s (2017) use of liberative symbols as tools for liberation can at best be exposed in the following manner:
Umoya! This is the word for spirit in isiXhosa. This is a word for wind too! This word is closer to the Hebrew one: ruach. It is the word for the breath of God into the nostrils of an unmoving body in the story of Creation. In the context of breathlessness, the rising spirit of a black person in decolonial times is the spirit to reject the finality of the West, conceptual assumptions that have hobbled and blinded contemporary thought in politics. (p. 8)
Kobo – Womanism and Black Theology
Like the work of Vellem, Kobo centres her Black Theology of Liberation on Liberative symbols but expands this conversation by engaging womanist theology. Like Vellem, she also makes use of the Bible and Jesus as critical figures in a liberative framework. While colonialism receives sustained attention in Kobo’s work, she gives attention to patriarchy not just as a problem that comes with colonialism but as one that comes from the African contexts. Kobo (2016), using Africanist social practices, exposes the division brought about by patriarchy in sites of engagement exemplified by ubuhlanti [the sacred space], revealing the paradox of belonging and exclusion. For Kobo (2016), the problem lies in the challenge that Ubuhlanti, as a space of critical dialogue particularly related to what happens in family life and society, is often exclusively reserved for men of all ages who completed the initiation rite of passage for manhood. Kobo (2022), embracing epistemologies that centre Africanness as a black womanist, argues that womanism is not part of Black Theology but is Black Theology (Kobo 2022:656). Here Kobo uses the idea of the kraal [sacred space], which is synonymous to ubuhlanti to advocate for a space of self-consciousness and inclusivity (Kobo 2022:656). Notably, in her work, she uses the kraal, synonymous with ubuhlanti, as a symbol of community in the form of the church (2020:2022). The paradox of inclusion, exclusion and community is something Kobo consistently engages as it is expressed in her discourse (Kobo 2022). This can also be noted in her work on cultic behaviour, spirituality and the abuse of women through a cultural lens as she engages the Bible (Kobo 2020). Engaging the oppression of women like Elmina-castle, Kobo (2018) uses Jesus as a central figure in building a liberative framework. Her challenge with androcentrism and patriarchy is also exposed in her discourse on cults in South Africa and the abuse women experience in such environments (Kobo 2019).
Tshaka – Being African and Christian
Tshaka (2020), whose theological work is also inspired by Black Consciousness, takes a different approach towards the conversation on liberative symbols as a way of doing Black Theology. Critiquing the Reformed church, Tshaka contends that it cannot be considered a black church because it does not endorse self-affirmation in a Black Consiousness register (Tshaka 2015). Key to Tshaka’s conversation are the challenges between being Christian and African at the same time, while this indeed is a reality for many at a political level (Tshaka 2007). Tshaka’s discourse exposes the challenges of epistemicide particularly as it relates to being a Reformed Christian and African at the same time. These problems around epistemicide, particularly as it relates to Christianity, are at best exposed in his conversation around Africanity and epistemicide (Tshaka 2019). Tshaka, discussing theological education, challenges the problematic nature of Western Metaphysics. Tshaka problematises the idea that Africanisation is simply cultural but argues that it is political insofar as colonial violence is concerned (Tshaka 2016). Unlike Vellem, Tshaka engages biblical symbols less and rather struggles with the challenge of epistemicide while being Christian.
Kobe – Black Theology of Liberation and African spirituality
Embracing Black Theology of Liberation, central to Kobe’s engagements, is self-affirmation in an African sense. Different from Vellem and Kobo and resonating more with Tshaka, Kobe is open to the development of a Black Theology of Liberation that is not centred on Western Christianity and Christianity in general. Being a student during the time of #FeesMustFall in South Africa, Kobe (2018) interrogates the theological curricula and their subtle dismissal of Black Theology of Liberation by academics through the argument that there is no sufficient literature to engage Black Theology of Liberation. This conversation around theological curricula and ubuntu as critical for theological education receives greater attention in Kobe (2025). The time of #FeesMustFall is a time when the advocacy for decolonisation in South African Universities rose (Kobe 2018). Building from the work of James Cone to engage Black Theology, Kobe eventually uses Biko as the primary interlocutor for the development of Black Theology of Liberation (Kobe 2018). Engaging Biko and his perspectives on Christian Theology and blackness, Kobe argues that Biko’s Black Consciousness sets the ground for a Black Theology that recognises African spirituality and ways of relationality (Kobe 2018). In this case, Kobe does not dismiss the use of Christianity in Black Theology of Liberation but tables other possibilities of doing Black Theology of Liberation that centres African spirituality. Kobe’s non-dismissive approach, or lack thereof, is perhaps evident in Kobe (2018, 2022, 2023). The approach she strongly advocates, which embraces both Black Theology of Liberation and African spirituality, is also notable in her discourse on the Abantu Book Festival and Black Theology as critical sites of engagements (Kobe 2020). Her keen interest in African knowledge paradigms and ubuntu is also notable in her conversation about the testimony of Ms Konile before the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Kobe 2017). This approach becomes much more evident in her PhD thesis on Desmond Tutu’s Theology of Ubuntu, where she exposes the points of intersection and complexities of African spirituality and Christian Theology (Kobe 2023).
Ramose – A Black Theology without God
Mogobe Ramose, an African philosopher, proposes a Black Theology without God (Ramose 2005). God in the Christian sense for Ramose is a political signifier of onticide and epistemicide (Ramose 1999). Ramose expresses the challenge of epistemicide and onticide that is tied to the Christian project and the political manifestation of racial Christendom across the world (Ramose 1999, 2005). The essence of the signifier as advocated for by Christianity, according to Ramose, is epistemic hegemony and superiority. Ramose’s proposal should be read considering his African philosophy, which recognises Africa as a site where life is and where knowledge can be and has been produced (Ramose 1999). Theologically, Ramose presents the onto-triadic structure of human existence in Africa that comprises the realm of the living, ancestors and the not yet born (Ramose 1999). Ramose draws no synonymous parallels between his African theology or African philosophy and Christianity and, in fact, argues that colonisation is an offspring of the Christian gospel. This is especially in the sense of its proclamation that gives it the ultimate power to assume truth and knowledge and instructs others to be told. I generally contend that Ramose’s engagement with abaphantsi, also known as ancestors, makes his conversation theological even though this could come across as purely philosophical. It is my argument that the self-affirmatory position of Ramose’s African philosophy or theology places him firmly within the complexities of Black Theology inspired by Black Consciousness (Ramose 1999). I shall now turn to the critical evaluation as I bring the above works into conversation.
Critical evaluation
This article contends that the Africanist tradition is inspired by Black Consciousness that uses African values and cultures as critical interlocutors for engagement. The case of an Africanist tradition within Black Theology is made considering the writings of Black Theologians before 1994. Unlike many Black Theologians before 1994, Black Theologians post-1994 consider African community and its principles to be critical in the task of theological engagement. Mofokeng, in his Crucified among the Cross-Bearers, while acknowledging principles such as Ubuntu, critiques the use of African traditions in a liberative framework, arguing that they are not helpful and do not advance the liberative cause (Mofokeng 1983). Mofokeng turns to Jesus as the central figure for liberation (Mofokeng 1983).3 Goba, taking on an Azanian posture as Africa (2025) correctly suggests, is critical of an ethnocentrism often tied to Africa the continent, which Goba (1988) suggests could be divisive and rather prefers the term ‘black’ traditions over ‘African’ traditions, and argues that there is a necessity for Christian language that affirms the humanity of Africans. Mosala (1987), recognising the principles of communalism that are essential for a Black Theology, argues that ancient African Systems lack an organising structure and are a bit primitive. Even Black Theologians who advocate for the embrace of African ways of life, such as Maimela (1985), who argue that Christian Theology has something to learn from African Traditional Religions, followed a cautious approach to the discourse.
Unlike these theologians, questions around epistemicide and onticide insofar as culture is concerned, receive more attention in post-1994 South Africa. In the context of this article, I note at least three registers in which this conversation takes place. The first register is the register of African tools as liberative symbols advocated by Vellem and Kobo, albeit differently. The second register is the recognition of being Christian and the epistemicide and onticide that comes with being Christian as proposed by Tshaka. The third register is the gesture of the possibility of a Black Theology of Liberation that is not really premised on Christianity for it to be considered African, seen in the work of Kobe. It is the argument of this article that each register presents its own challenges.
The critique of the first register lies its use of African symbols that it parallels with Hebrew symbols without providing an in-depth conversation of African symbols themselves. The key issue in this regard could be epistemicide. It must be admitted that Black Theology proposed by Kobo and Vellem is meant for Christians struggling with questions around God, colonial oppression and patriarchy, which is understandable. The broader question at a fundamental level is whether any form of epistemicide committed through parallelism can lead to liberation. This is not a critique of the approach that Vellem and Kobo take but a broadening of the conversation around the considerations necessary for avoiding any form of epistemicide in doing such parallelism. The challenge with the parallel approach in their case is that it assumes synonymity within the parallelism without discussing possible differences and how one mitigates the differences. To illustrate this point and while not necessarily advocating for his approach, Ramose (1999) makes a distinction between the Christian God and u-Nkulunkulu, the unknowable deity, an abaphantsi in his African philosophy or theology. This, for him, is of epistemological and ontological significance. Notably, despite this difference, both schools of thought, namely Black Theology of Liberation and Ramose’s African philosophy or theology, use the concept of wholeness as an African concept. In Kobo’s conversation, there is synonymity around the concept of wholeness and what Jesus stands for, while Ramose would see this as epistemicide and attaches Christianity to onticide.
Tshaka’s conversation increases the tension by acknowledging the fact that the dual identity due to circumstances is perhaps inevitable and points to the challenge of contending with this tension. This is with reference to recognising the impact of institutional Christianity on the question of self-affirmation as Africans. While Tshaka grapples with the question of epistemicide and Christian Theology, Tshaka does not explicitly make the move Kobe does. The third register gestures towards a Black Theology that centres African spirituality, notable in Kobe’s work. This sounds Ramosean except for the fact that Ramose challenges the very idea of the Christian God. The complexity between Ramose and Kobe is the extent to which they engage Christianity. The former does not entertain Christianity, and the latter, while not very dismissive of Christianity, endorses African spirituality. The question in relation to Kobe that could be asked is whether one could really separate Black Theology from Christianity at all; however, the proposition for a Black Theology in African spirituality is most certainly a very critical gesture. The key challenge that should receive attention is what she might make of the way other Black Theologians have framed Black Theology of Liberation in the Christian sense and what to make of discourses on Christianity and Black Theology in general. Ramose (2005), for instance, explicitly argues for the suspension of the Christian God. Ramose’s call for the suspension of the Christian God might sound like a plausible argument, but it takes lightly the impact Christianity has in shaping identities, and this suggestion could be impractical given that Christianity is the most dominant religion. Even if such a suggestion could be epistemically plausible, it risks being ignored by those whose lives were physically and materially saved by belonging to a church community. This is even as the epistemic and ontological premise of Christianity and its structuring of the world is oppressive and violent, as Ramose would perhaps point to. Critically, Ramose’s conversation perhaps focuses the light on what we call liberation, its epistemic assumptions, and whether liberative gestures that lead to some form of material liberation can be considered. The challenges with the lack of discourse around the liberative gestures in the Africanist Black Theology of Liberation in Ramose’s conversation problematises the discourse. This is because he does not engage the work of Black Theologians in this Africanist tradition and reduces the work in Black Theology of Liberation to Christendom in his proposal for a ‘Black theology without God’. To be explicit, this nonetheless cannot dismiss Ramose’s concerns with Christian Theology and Black Theology.
This article highlights that while all three registers in the Africanist tradition of Black Theology of Liberation are equally important, they do not delve into the challenge of epistemicide insofar as God is concerned at a fundamental level. To illustrate this point again using Ramose, the proposal is the suspension of the Christian God in favour of the ancestors and uNkulunkulu.4 Who is God within the tension of Western Christianity and being African, and what is God doing within the context of epistemicide and onticide in Black Theology of Liberation? Ramose, in relation to this question, assists us to think about the theological grammar of liberation and liberative gestures at an epistemological level. The analysis and the interrogation of the theological grammar of God, even as it is informed by Christian Theology, is crucial. It is the proposition of the article that the Africanist trajectory of Black Theology must engage the question of God or any deity at the first register directly as it wrestles with the questions of epistemicide and onticide in the context of the supposed dual identity of Christianity and Africanness. God as ontology is not just theological but political as well. While Kobe (2023) engages this in her thesis, she does not critically engage the question of God within Christian Theology.
Conclusion
In this article, I do a critical review of the Africanist Tradition of Black Theology of Liberation in South Africa, post-1994. It is the argument of this critical review that Black Theology of Liberation in this tradition is done in three registers. The first register is the register of African symbols as liberative praxis advocated for by Vellem and Kobo. The second register is the one that recognises the inevitable tension between Christianity and Africanness epistemically observed by Tshaka due to circumstances. The third register argues for a Black Theology using African spirituality, as advocated for by Kobo. This article seeks to draw our attention to the question of ‘theology proper’, the question of God and what to do with God in Black Theology of Liberation. This, I argue, using Ramose, is critical in the context of epistemicide and onticide.
Acknowledgements
The research presented in this article formed part of Ayanda Mdokwana’s ongoing postgraduate studies conducted as part of their Doctoral dissertation titled ‘A Comparative Analysis of Africanist Theological Language in Black Theology of Liberation and African Theology of Reconstruction’, to be submitted to the Department of Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology, University of South Africa, under the supervision of Rothney Tshaka and Cobus van Wyngaard. The supervisors were not involved in the preparation of this article and were not listed as co-authors. The dissertation will be submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the PhD degree. The dissertation is currently unpublished and not publicly available. Portions of the thesis have been revised, updated, and adapted for publication as a journal article.
Competing interests
The author declares that they have no financial or personal relationships that may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article.
CRediT authorship contribution
Ayanda Mdokwana: Writing – original draft. The author confirms that this work is entirely their own, has reviewed the article, approved the final version for submission and publication, and takes full responsibility for the integrity of its findings.
Ethical considerations
Ethical clearance was obtained from the University of South Africa College of Human Sciences_CREC (Reference no: 11361) and an ethical waiver was also obtained from the University of Pretoria Research Ethics Committee.
Funding information
The author received no financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.
Data availability
The author declares that all data that support this research article and findings are available in the article and its references.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and are the product of professional research. They do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any affiliated institution, funder, agency, or that of the publisher. The author is responsible for this article’s results, findings, and content.
References
Africa, OG, 2025, ‘Azania between history and eschatology: Bonganjalo Goba’s Africanist theology’, Verbum et Ecclesia 46(1), 3458. https://doi.org/10.4102/VE.v46i1.3458
Goba, B., 1988, An agenda for black theology: Hermeneutics for social change, Skotaville Publishers, Johannesburg.
Kobe, S.L., 2017, ‘The Truth and Reconciliation Commission and gender: The testimony of Mrs Konile revisited’, HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies 73(3), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v73i3.4572
Kobe, S.L., 2018, ‘Black Theology of Liberation (Is it the) thing of the past? A theological reflection on black students’ experiences’, Missionalia: Southern African Journal of Mission Studies 46(2), 288–303.
Kobe, S.L., 2020, ‘Decolonising theological education in urban spaces: A reflection on the “Abantu Book Festival”’, Missionalia: Southern African Journal of Mission Studies 48(2), 175–195.
Kobe, S.L., 2022, ‘Steve Biko’s black theology of liberation from the perspective of Ubuntu’, The Ecumenical Review 74(4), 589–599. https://doi.org/10.1111/erev.12725
Kobe, S.L., 2023, ‘Forgiveness and Ubuntu: A Study of the Theological Contribution of Desmond Tutu’, PhD, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. https://doi.org/10.5463/thesis.502
Kobe, S.L., 2025, ‘Black Theology and Ubuntu: A narrative of integration, manipulation, and assimilation in theological education in South Africa’, in G. Khunou & N. Radebe (eds.), The South African higher education transformation journey: Thirty years after democracy, pp. 133–149, Springer, Cham.
Kobo, F.A., 2016, ‘Umfazi akangeni ebuhlanti emzini … A womanist dialogue with Black Theology of Liberation in the 21st century’, HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 72(1), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v72i1.3268
Kobo, F.A., 2018, ‘Black women’s bodies as reformers from the dungeons: The Reformation and womanism’, HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 74(3), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v74i3.5015
Kobo, F.A., 2019, ‘Spirituality trapped in androcentric celebrity cults in South Africa post-1994’, HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 75(3), 5593. https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v75i3.5593
Kobo, F.A., 2020, ‘Ebuhlanti Amandla ngawethu: Womanism and black theology of liberation, in memory of Vuyani Shadrack Vellem’, HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 76(3), a6211. https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v76i3.6211
Kobo, F.A., 2022, ‘Walking together to the promised land: Womanism and Black theology of liberation’, The Ecumenical Review 74(4), 645–657. https://doi.org/10.1111/erev.12731
Maimela, S.S., 1985, ‘Salvation in African tradition religions’, Missionalia: Southern African Journal of Mission Studies 13(2), 63–77.
Mofokeng, T.A., 1983, The Crucified Among the Crossbearers: Towards a Black Christology, Uitgeversmaatschappij J.H. Kok, Kampen, Netherlands.
Mosala, I.J., 1987, Biblical hermeneutics and black theology in South Africa, University of Cape Town, Cape Town.
Motlhabi, M., 2009, ‘Phases of black theology in South Africa: A historical review’, Religion and Theology 16(3–4), 162–180. https://doi.org/10.1163/102308009X12561890523555
Ramose, M.B., 1999, African philosophy through Ubuntu, Mond Books, Harare.
Ramose, M.B., 2005, ‘Towards Black Theology without God’, Theologia Viatorum 29(1), 105–132.
Tshaka, R.S., 2007, ‘African, you are on your own! The need for African reformed Christians to seriously engage their Africanity in their reformed theological reflections’, Scriptura: Journal for Contextual Hermeneutics in Southern Africa 96(1), 533–548. https://doi.org/10.7833/96-0-1173
Tshaka, R.S., 2015, ‘The black church as the womb of black liberation theology?: Why the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA) is not a genuine black church?’, HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 71(3), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v71i3.2800
Tshaka, R.S., 2016, ‘How can a conquered people sing praises of their history and culture? Africanization as the integration of inculturation and liberation’, Black Theology 14(2), 91–106. https://doi.org/10.1080/14769948.2016.1185841
Tshaka, R.S., 2019, ‘The advocacy for Africanity as justice against epistemicide’, Black Theology 17(2), 132–149. https://doi.org/10.1080/14769948.2019.1627094
Tshaka, R.S, 2020, ‘If the colour of Jesus is not an issue, why are you so incensed at the suggestion that Jesus is Black?’, Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae 46(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.25159/2412-4265/6594
Vellem, V.S., 2007, Symbol of liberation in South African public life: A Black Theological perspective, University of Pretoria, Pretoria.
Vellem, V.S., 2013, ‘Serithi/Isidima: Reflections on human dignity in South Africa from a Black African1 perspective’, Scriptura: Journal for Biblical, Theological and Contextual Hermeneutics 104, 314–321. https://doi.org/10.7833/104-0-173
Vellem, V.S., 2016, ‘Imvuselelo: Embers of liberation in South Africa post-1994’, HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 72(1), a3501. https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v72i1.3501
Vellem, V.S., 2017, ‘Un-thinking the West: The spirit of doing Black Theology of Liberation in decolonial times’, HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 73(3), a4737. https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v73i3.4737
Footnotes
1. This is at best exposed by other Black Theologians such as Hlulani Mdingi and the works of other upcoming Black Theologians such as Fabian Oliver, Silakhe Singata, Ashwyn Tysssen and others.
2. The work of Desmond Tutu of course must be recognised in this regard but does not receive attention here due to the fact that Kobe (2023) engages the work of Tutu in depth.
3. As a matter of clarity for this conversation, Mosala and Mofokeng’s cautiousness in engaging African cultures could firmly be rooted earlier black consciousness work on the impact of colonialism on African cultures. They are not completely dismissive but root their conversations in Christian Theology even in later works while following a similar approach to Simon Maimela.
4. uNkulunkulu refers to the unknowable deity that cannot be accessed by the living and need the mediation of ababaphantsi known as the ancestors.
|
Hide
Show all
Email this article (Login required)
