Can we still be Reformed? A reflection on the Reformed tradition and South Africa’s modernity

Abstract

This article reflects on the potential of the Reformed tradition in the context of modernity in South Africa. This is of course a courageous venture: the meaning of the concepts "Reformed" and "modernity" are intensely debated and in some quarters even their usefulness is questioned. This is exactly why the argument presented in this article will not be much more than a tentative consideration. It will be done in three parts. The first part will examine challenges to being Reformed in South Africa. The second part investigates South Africa's modernity as a central challenge in more detail. The article concludes with a consideration of three impulses from the Reformed tradition that may prove helpful in the context of South Africa's modernity.