Herdenking van die Gelofte van 16 Desember 1838 op Versoeningsdag: ’n nuwe uitdaging aan die kerk

Abstract

With the advent of a new political dispensation in South Africa in 1994, the newly elected government of South Africa changed the name of the public holiday on 16 December from “the Day of the Vow” to “the Day of Reconciliation”. The intention of this change was to further reconciliation and nation-building in a post-apartheid South Africa. Many Afrikaners, however, continue to commemorate the 16 December 1838 vow as part of their religious practice. The focus of this article is to show that this poses a major new challenge to the church in South Africa because reconciliation is not only the task of the government, but one of the fundamental calls of the church. This article first focuses on the roots of the vow as part of the Voortrekkers’ religious understanding of themselves, the role it played in Afrikaner nationalism, and the actions of the South African government since 1994 to further the day as a day of reconciliation. A conclusion is then reached that the government alone will not succeed in changing the minds of many conservative Afrikaners. The church will have to take up this challenge.