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Prof Chris Hermans on why religion is needed in an era of uncertainty

18 April 2019 | Story Eugene Seegers | Photo Stephen Collett

“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

Shortage of quantity surveyors discussed at UFS

2006-03-24

During the recent visit of the Association of South African Quantity Surveyors (ASAQS) to the University of the Free State (UFS) were from the left Mr Egon Wortmann (Director: ASAQS), Prof Basie Verster (representative of the Free State on the ASAQS and head of the Department of Quantity Surveying and Construction Management at the UFS), Mr Greyling Venter (Chairperson: Free State branch of the ASAQS), Prof DG Brümmer(Vice-President: ASAQS) and Mr Patrick Waterson (President: ASAQS).
Photo supplied

Shortage of quantity surveyors discussed at UFS

“The South African building industry is experiencing an unprecedented high level of economic growth and prosperity. This is causing a definite shortage of registered quantity surveyors,” said Mr Egon Wortmann, Director of the Association of South African Quantity Surveyors(ASAQS) during the association’s recent visit to the Department of Quantity Surveying and Construction Management at the University of the Free State (UFS).

“This shortage is especially noticeable in local and national governments where unqualified and inexperienced staff, consultants and/or facilitators are now appointed,” said Mr Wortmann.

In doing so, the authorities that have adopted this approach are according to Mr Wortmann actually acting illegally and are not in compliance with the legal and statutory requirements of South Africa. “These unprofessional practices are unproductive, it leads to frustration and is strongly condemned by the ASAQS,” he said.

“The service delivery of these unqualified and unregistered service providers is often sub standard and does not comply to the legal requirements of the profession. It may also result in the tarnishing of the image and high professional standards set by the quantity surveying profession,” said Mr Wortmann.

“Universities offering programmes in quantity-surveying and construction management are also negatively affected by the high levels of activity in the building environment. Suitable lecturing staff are leaving the academic institutions as they are attracted to better opportunities being offered in the building industry. The ability of the tertiary institutions to attract young academics, to train them and to keep them in the longer term, is therefore almost impossible”, said Prof Basie Verster, head of the Department of Quantity Surveying and Construction Management at the UFS and representative of the Free State on the ASAQS.

According to Prof Verster the UFS supplies more than its quota of qualified quantity surveyors to the South African building industry. “Although more than 460 students are registered in construction related programmes at the UFS, we are as the ASAQS’s concerned about the shortage of students that can enter the construction industry. In our case, we are experiencing a shortage in black female students,” he said.

“Of the 460 postgraduate students, 38% are black of which 20% are female students. Graduates do also not necessarily stay in the country. As the UFS’s programmes are accredited overseas, a lot of our students leave the country for working opportunities elsewhere,” said Prof Verster.

Mr Patrick Waterson, President of the ASAQS, appealed to quantity surveyors to, when they are approached, consider academic careers or to make themselves available to lecture on a part time basis. “I also appeal to quantity-surveying practices, construction companies and developers to consider taking part in training activities,” he said.

The ASAQS has over the years developed a proud tradition within the quantity-surveying profession. Consequently membership of this organisation is a sought after goal for many members within the building environment. International agreements with various countries are also in place whereby it is mutually agreed that local as well as overseas qualifications are mutually acceptable on a reciprocal basis.

A more recent addition to the list of agreements is the reciprocity agreement entered into with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors which makes it possible for South African based quantity surveyors to practice in over 120 countries worldwide.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
23 March 2006

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