In recent weeks we have carried a number of letters and SMSes reacting to a Rhodes student who objected to the insertion of a Christian pamphlet in his student pack. The reactions have been quite varied – from people telling him to simply throw away the pamphlet without causing a fuss, to those who have supported his right not to be given religious material in a secular university, and of course there are those who have lampooned the entire debate with references to the Spaghetti Monsterists.
This newspaper has not formally taken a stand on whether we think it is acceptable to ply new students with religious material or not. Opinions in our newsroom are diverse, and we would probably not come close to consensus if we had an internal debate.
Nevertheless, if we consider the mandate of this newspaper to serve the community of Makana, we have probably done quite a good job on this issue. Grocott’s Mail has provided readers with a forum to exchange ideas on this issue.
The debate raises further questions about just how secular is our secular state after all? Most government schools in our area, and indeed, most schools in our country, base their values on a Christian framework, and at assemblies, songs sung by the whole school or by choirs, invariably have a Christian message.
Zooming out to national level, whenever there is an important gathering of leaders; meetings invariably begin with a moment of prayer. Sometimes religious leaders of different faiths are also given an opportunity to say a prayer and then everyone stands up to sing our national anthem – God Save Africa.
Our coins do not claim, as US coinage does, that “in God we trust”, but at every turn, South African culture is rooted in Christianity. The two most important public holidays in this country – Easter and Christmas - are about the birth and death of Jesus Christ. Why then do we persist in describing our country as a secular state?
Perhaps we are in this situation because of a pragmatic inertia that discourages radical change, or perhaps our nominally secular state with some light religious trimmings is the model that South Africans prefer.
