The Broederbond and ANC diverged structurally from opposite religious roots

Evidence

A commitment to Christian nationalism is not in any way similar to “religious commitment” as sociologists often conceptualize it. This is not merely semantics. In fact, we will show that Christian nationalism often influences Americans’ opinions and behaviors in the exact opposite direction than traditional religious commitment does. … Thus, while Christian nationalism is a significant part of American Christianity, the two are not one and the same. Where Christian nationalists seek to defend particular group boundaries and privileges using Christian language, other religious Americans and fellow Christians who reject Christian nationalism tend to oppose such boundaries and privileges. — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 101 (#complicates, via linked claim)

What proved decisive in South Africa, of course, was the fact that the majority of the indigenous population had not been evicted, that there was a consolidated class of the African proletariat, that the alliance between the African National Congress (ANC) and the Communist Party survived and the ANC was able to defend and expand its political hegemony among the majority of the population, that revolutions in the Portuguese colonies created a favourable environment for struggles in Namibia and South Africa, and that these factors combined to precipitate a crisis both of economy and of authority for the apartheid regime. — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory, 54 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The ANC and the Broederbond’s contrasting stances on racial mixing shaped their politics; ANC founding documents secularized government by removing theological reference; Purity-versus-acculturation tension predates and recurs wherever religious groups coexist — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 542 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Religious commitment and Christian nationalism shape opinions in opposite directions #complicates (0.73) — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 101
• An entrenched African proletariat and ANC-CP alliance enabled apartheid’s defeat. #complicates (0.71) — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory, 54