Perceptions of Apartheid: Churches and Political Change in South Africa

Published in 1979, this book goes beyond labeling to explanation, tracing the Dutch Reformed church's' role in shaping South African race relations from the pragmatic multiracialism of the early Cape, the the isolation and racial exclusiveness of the Boer trekkers, to theological rationalizations of apartheid. But parallel to the Dutch Reformed church tradition, Regehr traces the countervailing influence of the multiracial churches, from their championing of 'native rights,' to their subsequent impact on Black nationalism, to their protest, though frequently compromised, against the injustices of the regime.