Introduction

This short introductory chapter contextualizes the book's key issues of race, middle-class status, and various forms of Christianity in the context of Cape Town's “Day Zero” water crisis in 2018, when it was feared the city's taps would run dry. The chapter briefly outlines the book's key methods and theories, reflects on the author's positionality, noting the low opinion of his native Australia among South African intellectuals, and briefly introduces the contents of each chapter.