Power and Faith

How evangelical churches are quietly shaping our democracy

Pontsho Pilane

ISBN:

9780624093084

Epub ISBN:

9780624093091

Publisher:

Tafelberg

Date Released:

February 2024

Price (incl. VAT):

R 280.00

Format:

Soft cover, 176pp


About this book:

‘What if I were to tell you that I used to belong to a religious cult? I’d tell you it was one of those evangelical churches, and then leave you to fill in the gaps yourself . . . Did I eat grass? Or maybe a snake? Was I sprayed with Doom?
‘Talking about spending most of my twenties serving in a white-led multi-racial megachurch feels like stepping on a piece of Lego. The pain was, is, obliterating. It demands my attention. It never leaves. It ebbs and flows. I am a former member of what I will call The Family.’
 
Journalist Pontsho Pilane’s experience at a powerful evangelical church changed the trajectory of her life and began her journey of deconstructing her faith. Part memoir, part social commentary, Power and Faith lays bare the myth that our constitutional values are safe from the tentacles of religious power.

Read extract

Readers say

‘Escaping traumatic experiences and seeking sanctuary very often throws one into the arms of a cult. This proves to be yet another illusion of trust, unravelling beliefs and the very notion of belonging.’

– Sipho Hlongwane, writer and journalist


‘Evangelicalism is dangerous and detrimental to sexual and reproductive health rights and access to services guaranteed by those rights. This is not only happening in the US but here in South Africa too. This book shows why the global advocacy for sexual and reproductive rights must continue with vigour.’

– Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng, physician and author


RELATED BOOKS

How to Steal a Gold Mine: The Aurora Story

Dianne Hawker

Nuclear

Karyn Maughan, Kirsten Pearson

The New Apartheid

Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh

Bait

Janine Lazarus

Capture in the Court

Dan Mafora

Hartstories van ons land se boere

Ivor Price, Kobus Louwrens

The Tyranny of Growth

Malcolm Ray

When Love Kills

Melinda Ferguson

The ANC’s Last Decade

Ralph Mathekga

Not without my dogs

Hilda Van Dyk, Kobus Olivier

The Lie of 1652

Patric Mellet

Hunting with the Hawks

Graham Coetzer

Samurai Sword Murder

Nicole Engelbrecht

Hijackers on Board

Cynthia Stimpel

Farm Killings in South Africa

Nechama Brodie

Mothers of the Nation

Lihle Ngcobozi

The Rise or Fall of South Africa

Frans Cronje

The Enemy Within

Mpumelelo Mkhabela

Deep Collusion

Athol Williams

Can we be safe?

Ziyanda Stuurman

Moord op Pofadder

Charné Kemp

Black Racist Bitch

Thandiwe Ntshinga

Rapport 30 beste Bokke

Dawie Boonzaaier

Living While Feminist

Jen Thorpe

Our Poisoned Land

Jacques Pauw

Gangster

Carla van der Spuy

Moord op Stellenbosch

Julian Jansen

Balance of Power

Qaanitah Hunter

SIZZLERS

Nicole Engelbrecht

Eight Days in July

Kaveel Singh, Jeff Wicks, Qaanitah Hunter

Dirty Tobacco

Telita Snyckers

War Party

Greg Ardé

The Price of Mercy

Sean Davison

Killer Cop

Naledi Shange

It's Not About the Bats

Adam Cruise

Outopsie

Hestelle van Staden

We Can Fix Ourselves

Mosibudi Mangena

Blood has a voice

Hestelle van Staden

Stellenbosch: Murder Town

Julian Jansen

Met my honde

Hilda Van Dyk, Kobus Olivier

Brutal School Ties

Sam Cowen

It's Not Inside It's On Top

Khanya Mtshali

Freek Robinson

Freek Robinson

Femicide in South Africa

Nechama Brodie

Female Fear Factory

Pumla Gqola

Domestic Terror

Nechama Brodie

Soul of a Nation

Oyama Mabandla

Skatryk

Johan Fourie

The Thabo Bester Story

Marecia Damons, Daniel Steyn

Nation on the Couch

Wahbie Long