Focus on the Promotion of Human Dignity

With disease, poverty and conflict rampant on the continent, it is very difficult for Africans to find a semblance of dignity in their trying circumstances. For many years human dignity has been the golden thread running through the various postgraduate programmes, research initiatives and community interaction projects in Stellenbosch University’s Faculty of Theology. Human dignity lies at the core of how theology is understood.

A tangible example of transformation in communities as a result of scientific work, is a research project on the role of women and lay preachers in the church, conducted by a Zimbabwean scholar. The research led to women being allowed to serve as ministers in the congregation in some communities, which in turn led to the change in their status in the church and in their communities.

As part of the University’s HOPE Project it is the Faculty’s objective to place an even greater emphasis on human dignity and to create better synergy in the teaching and research, as well as community interaction already being done by the various units, for example the Beyers Naudé Centre for Public Theology and the Unit for Religion and Development Research (URDR). This Unit also runs projects on poverty and development, and assist communities with training and job creation.

The Faculty will also facilitate discussions on the theme of human dignity in different spheres among its own staff and students, but also collaborate in an interdisciplinary way on campus with colleagues in the Law, Health Sciences, AgriSciences and Education faculties.

The Faculty has been collaborating with internationally-renowned scholars in the field of human dignity, also in the context of globalisation, through conferences and is working towards influencing national policies.​​