From the beginning of the nineteenth century through to 1960, Protestant
missionaries were the most important intermediaries between South Africa's ruling white
minority and its black majority. The Equality of Believers reconfigures the
narrative of race in South Africa by exploring the pivotal role played by these missionaries and
their teachings in shaping that nation's history.The missionaries
articulated a universalist and egalitarian ideology derived from New Testament teachings that
rebuked the racial hierarchies endemic to South African society. Yet white settlers, the churches
closely tied to them, and even many missionaries evaded or subverted these ideas. In the early years
of settlement, the white minority justified its supremacy by equating Christianity with white racial
identity. Later, they adopted segregated churches for blacks and whites, followed by segregationist
laws blocking blacks' access to prosperity and citizenship--and, eventually, by the
ambitious plan of social engineering that was apartheid.Providing historical
context reaching back to 1652, Elphick concentrates on the era of industrialization, segregation,
and the beginnings of apartheid in the first half of the twentieth century. The most ambitious work
yet from this renowned historian, Elphick's book reveals the deep religious roots of racial
ideas and initiatives that have so profoundly shaped the history of South
Africa.