ABSTRACT

In attempting to discern the contribution of African Independent Churches to development, it is essential to first both define and deconstruct both the concept ‘development’ and the concept ‘African Independent Churches’. Both terms have disputed and complex histories which are historically and contextually bound – making it difficult to simply make pragmatic proposals without unpacking and problematising often unspoken assumptions that lay behind both ‘development’ and the Independent Church phenomenon. This chapter therefore, seeks to unpack some of the assumptions underlying an often western-driven development agenda and bring this into conversation with the possible contribution of African Independent Churches in addressing issues of poverty and marginalisation within a South African context.