“Theologising the Bounds of Community: VOC Religious Policies in the Early Cape Colony”

Scott Spurlock

doi:10.25159/2412-4265/15540

Authors

Scott Spurlock University of Glasgow https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2469-7207

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25159/2412-4265/15540

Keywords:

Covenant, VOC, baptism, colonial government, Reformed theology

Abstract

This paper seeks to challenge scholarly assumptions over the role that Reformed religion played in the first 50 years of the Cape colony. Rather than rooted in a doctrine of external holiness, it is argued the practice of baptism reflected a covenantal framework that served as a theological basis for ordering and demarcating an increasingly diversified community while maintaining strict social hierarchies. In so doing, the VOC created a community defined by covenantal inclusion and exclusion. While this radically changed over time, the early policy should be understood in its context.

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Author Biography

Scott Spurlock, University of Glasgow

Research Associate, Stellenbosch University, and The University of Glasgow

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