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BETHESDA TEMPLE AMONG INDIAN SOUTH AFRICANS BY GERALD J. PILLAY (University of South Africa) Concentrated in the province of Natal, on the South African east coast, and in some of the Transvaal and Cape Province suburbs, are over 80 congregations which belong to the Bethesda movement. This Christian movement with 35,000 members, made up almost entirely of Indian South Africans, celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 1981. In these fifty years, it has grown from an obscure indepen- dent movement to a denomination in its own right with local and international links. This article surveys the history of Bethesda, the social impact it has had within the Indian community in South Africa, its socio-religious setting and its theological ethos. Religion among Indian South Africans The majority of the 152,184 Indian immigrants who came to Natal between 1860-1911 were indentured labourers.' They were brought here to boost the flagging agricultural industry of the English colony and were to serve 5 or 10 periods of indenture with the option of extending their contracts, returning to India or com- muting their free passage for a plot of land if they chose to remain.2 A small group of Indian traders, the 'passenger-Indians', followed
Journal of Religion in Africa – Brill
Published: Jan 1, 1991
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