Browsing by Author "Mapulanga, Michael."

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2

Economic hardship and vulnerability of young women to sex trafficking: a challenge to the Catholic Church's theological advocacy in South Africa.
(2015) Mapulanga, Michael.; Le Bruyns, Clint Charles.
This research project focuses on sex trafficking of vulnerable young women in quest of economic dignity in South Africa and the Catholic Church’s theological response in combating it. Indeed, the economic hardship and vulnerability of women challenge the Catholic Church’s theological advocacy in the context of sex trafficking of vulnerable young women in South Africa. This research project examines, assesses, analyses and critiques how the Catholic Church’s theological advocacy is challenged and how it can be reshaped. I used the frameworks of Connor (2013), Osmer (2008) and Palm (2012) to address the issue of sex trafficking in the South African context. Connor (2013), a Human Sciences Research Council report (HSRC 2010), Kreston (2012), Mtimkulu (2010) and Pattanaik & Thorbek (2002) have avidly revealed that sex trafficking happens within and outside South Africa. Connor (2013) suggests the ways of combating sex trafficking using the Palermo Protocol that focuses on prevention, protection and prosecution. The framework of Connor (2013) is referred to as the Catholic theological advocacy. The author of this research project analyses that the framework of Connor (2013) which is referred to as Catholic theological advocacy is significant but not effective enough because it does not intertwine the quest for economic dignity of many vulnerable young women with sex trafficking, hence becomes a problem in combating sex trafficking. The author of this research project assesses and examines how the Catholic Church’s theological advocacy can be reshaped. The framework of Osmer helps the author of this project to approach the issue of sex trafficking analytically in order to find the practical ways of reshaping the Catholic Theological advocacy. Osmer (2008:4) has developed a framework for practical theological interpretation in congregations by focussing on four key questions: (1) What is going on in a given context? (2) Why is this going on? (3) What ought to be going on? (4) How might we respond (Osmer 2008:4)? The framework of Palm (2012) provides the concrete practical ways of addressing issues. The author of this research project has used the framework of Palm (2012) in reshaping the Catholic Theological advocacy. And the author of this project provides some recommendations at the end of the research project as the way forward.
Water theology and religious engagement in interfaith dialogue to mitigate water scarcity in Botshabelo.
(2023) Mapulanga, Michael.; Kumalo, Simangaliso Raymond.
This research project focuses on a quest for an interfaith dialogue on water theology in the context of water scarcity in Botshabelo, a region in the Free State Province of South Africa. Water theology in this study stands for the theology that cares for water and the environment. From 2014, Botshabelo has been affected by water scarcity which has severely affected people in their daily living and religious rituals. The adherents of African Traditional Religion, Christianity and Islam argue that despite the water shortages in Botshabelo, religious leaders have not been vocal in advocating for water conservation. The adherents of religions in Botshabelo claim that the engagement of religious leaders in interfaith dialogue and advocacy for water conservation could assist in mitigating water scarcity in Botshabelo. According to these believers, the absence of advocacy for water conservation by religious leaders signifies the lack of care for nature. This thesis aims at investigating how could the engagement of religious leaders through interfaith dialogue assist in mitigating the crisis of water scarcity in Botshabelo. The thesis assesses the role and the significance of religion in addressing social problems. The study focuses on three major religions in Botshabelo, namely; African Traditional Religion, Christianity and Islam to obtain the wide views and responses about their engagement in multifaith dialogue to conserve water in Botshabelo. It is also a finding of this study that even though religious leaders are willing to discuss the problem of water scarcity, they lack the tools and approaches which could be provided by interfaith dialogue. Furthermore, it is a finding of the study that water scarcity is due to the failure of the society to take responsibility for water conservation. While recognizing the contributions of the available scholarship on the aspect of water scarcity in South Africa, this study proposes a care for water which is called in this thesis as a theology of water informed by an interfaith dialogue theory of Michael Fitzgerald (2000) and Hans Küng (2004).