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18 April 2019 | Story Eugene Seegers | Photo Stephen Collett
Prof Chris Hermans
Prof Chris Hermans, extraordinary professor at the UFS, presents his inaugural lecture, titled Theology in an Age of Contingency.
“The road ahead is empty / It’s paved with miles of the unknown.”

Prof Chris Hermans quoted these lines from the song The Road Ahead, by Dutch vocal group City to City to introduce his inaugural lecture in the Faculty of Theology and Religion on 27 February 2019. Prof Hermans, a veteran researcher in pastoral theology, empirical, and practical religious studies at the Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands and an extraordinary professor at the UFS, chose as his theme Theology in the Age of Contingency, stating that the uncertainty of life has affected all disciplines in the academy, from the sciences, philosophy, and pedagogy, to theology itself.

Although contingency is often defined as a “future event ... which is possible but cannot be predicted with certainty” (Oxford English Dictionary), Prof Hermans stated that, in the context of theology, it has more to do with complexity, unpredictability, coexistence of cultures, and an increasing number of decisions people need to make in modern-day life. 

Changing lanes

Prof Hermans recounted a memory from his childhood to illustrate some aspects of contingency: “Growing up, my parents told me to cycle on the right side of the road. They knew what the right side was. Everything had a right side: What norms and values to live by, what was right or wrong, when to pray and which words to use. ... We now live in a different world.”

Prof Hermans’ inaugural lecture reflected on four tasks of practical theology and missiology. He further asserted that the content and aim of these tasks change from the perspective of contingency.

Contingency perspectives

From a sociological perspective, said Prof Hermans, contingency is a characteristic of the age of modernisation in which we live. He stated that in the modern age, people have a much greater choice of individual ‘action options’ as well as a growing number of experiences as a result. Expounding on this, he said, “The fact that I am a Christian, and another person Hindu or Muslim, is largely due to the fact that I was born within a Christian family. The fact that I am Christian is a possibility and an actuality, but not a necessity.”

Prof Hermans also helped listeners to understand other areas in which contingency plays a role, such as the binary logic used when determining modalities of truth, or changing world views and philosophies of being, or even in our ethos, our art of living, and outlook on life.

News Archive

Statement on protest at the UFS
2005-03-04

Following a protest by student and non-student organisations today, the management of the University of the Free State (UFS) would like to place the following facts on record:

1. There is a well-documented process underway to further transform the UFS. At the official opening of the UFS on 4 February 2005 , the Rector and Vice-chancellor, Prof Frederick Fourie, announced that the UFS would draft a comprehensive Transformation Plan to guide the next phase of transformation at the institution.

The UFS appeals to student formations, staff associations, trade unions and other role-players to make a constructive input into this Transformation Plan.

The UFS management has been - and always will be - willing to engage with role-players and is prepared to do so even after today’s protest.

2. There is thus no regulation or policy prescription which separates students in hostels according to race.

The reality is that students exercise their freedom of choice as to which hostel they wish to be placed in. This was agreed upon by black and white students in 1997/8.

However, the unintended consequence and practice of this hostel placement policy has been that students themselves have tended to choose to stay in hostels which have over time become black hostels and white hostels.

This is a matter of concern for the management of the UFS as such a situation does not promote interaction across language, cultural and socio-economic groupings of students.

This matter is receiving attention and an intensive consultative process, which will include students, will be launched to review this policy.

The management is convinced that such interaction will enhance the learning experience of all students and sensitise them to the reality of a multicultural South Africa and a multicultural world.

3. No student organisation has been banned from operating at any of the three campuses of the UFS.

In the past few weeks, SASCO, the Young Communist League and the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) have held meetings on all three campuses, namely the Qwaqwa campus, the Vista campus and the main campus.

There are also regular interactions between top management and the leadership of SASCO and the ANCYL on campus.

In fact, the UFS upholds the right of students and staff to associate freely and to organise themselves as they see fit.

The UFS also upholds the rights of staff and students to engage in legal and peaceful protests.

The management however remains committed to discussing issues that affect staff and students in a constructive manner and appeals to student organisations in this case to engage with management.

4. The issues of registration, fees, debt and financial aid are continually monitored, and interventions to assist students are made regularly. To assist as far as possible those academically deserving students who face financial difficulties, the UFS management has put in place a structure called the Monitoring committee that includes management and student representatives.

The purpose of the Monitoring Committee is to review the cases of individual students to determine how best they can be assisted.

This applies to the Qwaqwa campus, the Vista campus and the main campus.

It is generally the case that students who perform academically will not have any difficulty in obtaining financial assistance. However, according to the requirements of National Student Financial Scheme, students who perform poorly will have difficulty in obtaining such assistance.

5. With regard to student governance, the process to institute an inclusive Central Student Representative Council (SRC), on which all three campuses will be equitably represented, was launched in July 2004, and a preliminary constitution has just been drafted. At the same time an inclusive process to review certain elements of the constitution of the main campus SRC was initiated at the end of 2004. This process, which includes all relevant student organisations and structures, is planned to produce an outcome within the next couple of months.

6. There is no policy at the UFS that is based on racism or that discriminates on the basis of the race of students and staff.

As part of the building of a new institutional culture within the broader transformation process, the UFS management is determined to eradicate all elements of racism that may occur on its campuses, and has already instituted inclusive forums on campus to discuss the issue of values and principles for a non-racial university.

Issued by: Mr Anton Fisher
Director: Strategic Communication
Cell: 072 207 8334
Tel: (051) 401-2749
4 March 2005

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