The spiritual Mandela
Subtitle: faith and religion in the life of South Africa's great statesman
By: Dennis Cruywagen
Publisher: Zebra Press; Penguin Random House South Africa
Published: 2016
Place of publication: Cape Town [South Africa]
Language: eng
Number of pages: 224
ISBN-13: 9781770227828
Subjects: Religion; Political and social views; Politics and government
Description: "Nelson Mandela revealed nothing about his personal religious beliefs in his writings or in his public pronouncements. But those who were close to him know that he held Christian views, and, at his request, the final part of his funeral followed the Methodist service. This book traces the spiritual aspect of Mandelas life, from his youth in a traditional Thembu village, to his education at Wesleyan and Methodist mission schools, to his time as an activist, his period on Robben Island and the years thereafter. It explores the way that he balanced Christianity with traditional African beliefs, and with his political views, and how he reconciled his own beliefs with the fact that religion had often been used as a tool to oppress his people. Based on interviews with some of Mandelas close colleagues, such as Ahmed Kathrada, as well as priests and other religious figures with whom he interacted, this book unearths an unknown dimension of recent history's most famous man."--Publisher description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 211-217) and index.
Table of contents: title: Spiritual origins; title: A Methodist education; title: The runaway; title: Politics, before anything else; title: Taking up arms; title: An imprisonment of the spirit; title: The sacrament behind bars; title: Confessions of faith; title: A transcendental leader; title: Last rites.