Some of the major Christian churches gave their blessing to the system of apartheid. And many of its early proponents prided themselves in being Christians. Indeed, the system of apartheid was regarded as stemming from the mission of the church...Religious communities also suffered under apartheid, their activities were disrupted, their leaders persecuted, their land taken away. Churches, mosques, synagogues and temples – often divided amongst themselves – spawned many of apartheid's strongest foes, motivated by values and norms coming from their particular faith traditions."The response of South Africa's religious institutions to apartheid spanned a wide spectrum – from overt support to tacit acceptance and outright rejection. The Dutch Reformed Church provided a theological justification of apartheid, claiming that it was God's will and that the Bible supported it. It was only in 1998 that the DRC officially recognized apartheid "as wrong and sinful ... in its fundamental nature." Other Christian churches, as well as Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and other faith communities, failed to challenge apartheid racism in a meaningful way, choosing instead to remain silent. This position changed dramatically in the 1980s as opposition to apartheid became increasingly widespread, inside and outside the country.Truth and Reconciliation Commission Final Report, Volume 4 Chapter 3
And to be able then to seek to uphold the fervor and the faith of our people, being able to say to them that we had a God who was not deaf, who was not blind, who didn't give advice from a safe distance. We had a God who enters the fiery furnace with you and doesn't say to you, "Well, you know, when you are exposed to fire, you ought to wear asbestos and protective -" No, God comes into the fire with you, because this is Emmanuel. Incredible. I mean, it was almost as if the scriptures were a textbook written specifically for your particular situation. It's been an incredible privilege, a very incredible privilege.Interview with Mary Marshall Clark, September 15, 1999; from the Carnegie Oral History Project in the Oral History Research Office Collection of the Columbia University Libraries