“Kairos” 40th Celebration: Critical Reflections after a decade. ‘HTS Theological Studies’ 2025 Special Collection
HTS Theological Studies 2025 Special Collection: We invite you to submit
AOSIS calls on all authors to participate in the HTS Theological Studies 2025 special collection, “Kairos” 40th Celebration: Critical Reflections after a decade, that will be published in the open-access scholarly journal. Submit your latest research for consideration, contribute to the open-access content available to everyone, and share your expertise with a wider audience.
Timeline:
- Submissions open: 28 February 2024
- Submissions deadline: 30 May 2025
- Expected publication date: 15 December 2025
“Kairos” 40th Celebration: Critical Reflections after a decade
The publication of the South African Kairos Document (SA-KD) in 1985/1986 marked a defining moment in theological, political, and social history.[1] Written amidst the struggle against apartheid, the SA-KD represented a bold and prophetic challenge to systemic injustice and a clarion call for moral renewal, under the rubric: “The time has come. The moment of truth has arrived” (SA-KD, 1986:1). These opening lines of the SA-KD in the 1980s capture the urgency at the time by Kairos’ theologians, to pose critical questions on the role of theology (epistemology of theology), that of theologians, and those confessing to be Christians. This was happening at a time in South African history, when the church was caught-up in theological dissonance, and relegated to the private sphere. Therefore, these words originally crafted during the darkest days of apartheid-South Africa, underscored the theological and moral imperative to confront systemic injustice, calling for decisive action to dismantle an oppressive regime. Yet, decades later, this sentiment still resonates with some in the “democratic” South Africa. It is fair to say that we do not merely witness new crises, but in one way or another the church (beyond the institutional church) seems paralysed and often co-opted [2] into the ideologies and political systems that oppresses hundreds of people.[3]
It was important for Kairos theologians across the globe, to distance themselves from “church theologies” that endorses, or relativises the injustices and oppression during it time, but also simultaneously conceptualising and nurturing a theology that would not be critical of such injustices (even in church confines) and calling it for what it is – by confronting it! Therefore, Kairos theology can be seen as both a theological method and praxis, even challenging theologies embraced by faith communities. Therefore, it was calling people of faith to be in critical solidarity with their brothers and sisters, their churches, and faith tradition that has become complicit with systemic, structural evil – in need of conversion? The USA Kairos document, for instance, addresses the United States Government’s use of Christian faith to endorse it waging wars against vulnerable nations. It suggests that many Christians in the United States (Christian Zionism) endorse the waging of war against Palestinians through biblical endorsement.[4] In the European context church complicity plays out during the Russian government’s invasion of Ukraine, and the silence (complicity) of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC)? Where are the faith communities when masses of people die, under the hand of imperialist governments?
Even before the KDs, we have seen in Christian theology, an emphasis on “missional ecclesiology” which emphasised that the church should become concerned with God’s mission in the world. These two might not be juxtaposed to each other, but indeed Kairos theology went above institutional, and church theologies, in a more radical way than might be articulated in missional ecclesiologies at the time – or even other ecclesiological discourses. This became clear in a renewed commitment to a Kairos theology in 2015, at the 30th celebration of the SA-KD, in Johannesburg, South Africa, where new questions were asked concerning the positionality of the church in so-called post-apartheid, democratic South Africa. At the conference various themes were placed under the spotlight, such as the perpetuation of patriarchy, the lack of critical solidarity between faith communities, the paralysis of faith communities under empire, and the KDs’ relation to other prophetic documents, i.e. confessions/declarations (Belhar/Accra/Barmen).
Nevertheless, the significance of the KDs lie in the fact that it was theologies that were given birth to, at the grassroots, among the people and therefore a call from the people.[5] It is committed to a praxiological methodology, and its ethos of truth-telling, justice, and solidarity resonates deeply with, especially marginalized communities across the world, where geopolitical crises and wars continue to wreak havoc on human lives, destabilise nations, and exacerbate global inequalities.
Initially in terms of the SA-KD it brought together Christians from different persuasions (Reformed, Protestant, Catholic, Evangelical) to join hands in solidarity, while others chose to remain uncritical of the powers that be, when critical solidarity was desperately needed. Some would decide to follow a more moderate approach, and to that effect refuse to sign the document.[6] Later, various other faith traditions (Islamic & Hindu) felt that this resonated with them, although critical that such a document was originally drafted exclusively by Christians, decided to stand in solidarity – in pursuing the liberation of the oppressed (KD, 1985:47).[7]
Nearly four decades after the inception of the SA-KD, South Africa and the global community faces new but equally profound challenges (i.e., economic and gender inequality, climate crisis, racism, political corruption, and social polarization), with the church and faith communities, and its theologising, and theology almost at another crossroad! Though one would be able to enumerate some critical social, political and economic challenges, the question is how do faith communities position themselves (or omission?), theologise about it, and locate themselves (siding with forces of injustice?) amidst these challenges? How do they choose to read (or not?) its contextual challenges of injustice and oppression? Or are there still faith communities, practising an escapist, otherworldly spirituality?
Objective:
Therefore, this Call for “Kairos” 40th Celebration: Critical Reflections after a decade, purports to bring together emerging, and established scholars, as well as faith practitioners that would again theologically reflect on the questions raised above, in the search for a critical assessment on theologies and faith communities in our time, and around the globe in relation to the social challenges we face. Theologians, activists and scholars are invited to use the Kairos ethos as a lens to re-imagine the role of faith communities in our current milieu in the quest to present hope for a just future. Re-imagining the Kairos ethos for a new generation involves retaining its prophetic critique of injustice while expanding its vision to address contemporary struggles that humanity faces both in the country and in the global community.
Recommended topics:
We encourage submissions to “Kairos” 40th Celebration: Critical Reflections after a decade on a range of topics, including but not limited to:
- Revisiting the theological underpinnings of the Kairos Documents and its relevance for contemporary faith praxis.
- The role of contextual hermeneutics in sustaining a Kairos theology for liberation, reconciliation, peace and justice. The role of sacred scriptures in different faith traditions to oppress rather than serve liberative function?
- Addressing persistent inequalities: racial, spatial, economic, and injustice in terms of gender & sexuality. The challenge of neo-colonialism, and political occupation, and modern forms of slavery looming large under imperial reign.
- The relevance of Kairos theology in the face of current wars, geopolitical conflicts, Kairos ethos in responding to war, conflict, and displacement.
- Climate justice as a Kairos moment: theological reflections on environmental sustainability and ecological degradation.
- The Kairos ethos and the digital age: challenges and opportunities for prophetic witness in a connected world.
- The Kairos theology in the context of inter-religious dialogue and solidarity among faiths, and churches (lack of ecumenicity?), religious communities.
- The theology of reconciliation, envisaged by the KDs in relation to contemporary praxes.
Manuscript information:
The author guidelines include information about the types of articles received for publication and preparing a manuscript for submission. Read the full submissions guidelines.
Submission procedure:
When submitting your article to HTS Theological Studies, choose “Kairos” 40th Celebration: Critical Reflections after a decade as the article type. You can access the submission portal on the journal’s website after logging in with your personal credentials. For further information on the submission process, visit the journal procedure page.
All submissions will undergo an anonymous review process to guarantee high scientific quality and relevance to the subject. The Editor-in-Chief will make the final decision on acceptance, revision, or rejection based on the feedback from the reviewers.
We will be happy to provide you with any assistance during the submission and application process. Kindly enquire at submissions@hts.org.za.
All submissions and inquiries should be directed to the attention of the guest editors:
- Prof Gift Baloyi (University of South Africa) – baloygt@unisa.ac.za
- Prof Eugene Baron (University of Johannesburg) – eugeneb@uj.ac.za
We would be honoured to receive a positive reply from you and look forward to receiving your article in the “Kairos” 40th Celebration: Critical Reflections after a decade special collection.
[1] For an introduction into the origin and contents of the document, see at the following link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kairos_Document
[2] The well-known critique is that many theologians, pastors have joined forces with “liberation” movements, parties, that has made them become uncritical about their oppressive elements, and therefore also uncritical of those very parties, and in some cases the majority party in government.
[3] See for instance the paper of Kritzinger, J.N.J. Overcoming theological voicelessness in the new millennium. Missionalia 40:3 (Nov 2012), 233-25
[4] See the Kairos Palestine document, https://www.kairospalestine.ps/index.php/resources/statements. In fact their website seems to be the most active currently, in terms of the ongoing war in Palestine and occupation.
[5] See the conceptualisation of De Gruchy (2016) and Nolan (1994).
[6] A case in point is within the ranks of the Dutch Reformed Mission Church (then known as one of the “Daughter churches of the Dutch Reformed Church”), where there was a heated debate about the document, and some refusing to adopt such a document within church structures. In fact some would openly embrace the Belhar, but at the same time reject the KD. See Die Ligdraer, Kairos Dokument Verwerp [Kairos Document Rejected], 14 August, 1987.
[7] See for instance Farid Esack’s critique on the arrogance of Christians to draft such a document without consultation with other faiths. Esack, F. 1986. A Muslim Perspective on the Kairos Document. WCRP Newsletter, 3 (1): 1-2.
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