WHICH STORY DO WE FOLLOW? ‘CULTURE WARS’ AND THE ISSUE OF PUBLIC MORALITY ON CANAAN’S SIDE OF THE JORDAN

• Tony Balcomb School of Theology University of Natal

DOI: https://doi.org/10.7833/82-0-894

Abstract

In apartheid South Africa the issues of morality were quite clear and specific. In spite of the various attempts at justification or obfuscation it was clear that apartheid was wrong and the struggle for democracy was right. Other issues that might have come to the fore in a normal society were eclipsed by the apartheid story. In post-Apartheid, liberated, South Africa, the issues are not so clear. A multiplicity of stories from various segments of the society compete for the moral high ground. This has produced what JD Hunter called “culture wars” (1991) – that is, different groups expressing different sets of values that find their legitimating moral base in different meta-narratives. While Hunter describes only two for the American situation at least seven are discernible in contemporary South Africa. From myths that support the free market to those that sidestep the AIDS pandemic to those surrounding burgeoning witchcraft practices, the moral terrain is being contested by various groupings in the new society. What are the indications of the presence of these myths in the society? How are they being used to construct moral understandings of the society? Which worldviews are they assuming? What sorts of values are emanating from them? What impact are they having on our society?