ABSTRACT
The historical developments leading to Afrikaners' privileged position of whiteness in South Africa are discussed, along with the role of Afrikaners' religious practices in those developments, and the part played by the church in nation-building. Significant historical topics are related to the views and experiences of the author's research interlocutors, who emphasize the importance of certain narratives both to Afrikanerdom and to individual and family identities. Afrikanerdom is looked at more closely in its religious context in order to explain the religious transformation of Afrikaners post-apartheid, and of their ideas of whiteness. These are studied in the context of the idea of ordentlikheid (“decency,” “propriety,” “properness”) and as part of changing moral boundaries. The concept of rupture also explains many of the drastic recent changes in the worldview and practices of Afrikaners, as they tested boundaries, sought new spiritual paths, and considered new religious choices.
