What is heritage in Africa? Who defines and authorises heritage? Is heritage limited to tangible forms of land, resources and monuments, or do intangible forms of heritage, such as cultural and religious heritage, count equally or even more? How is heritage managed, appropriated, expropriated and commodified by the government and state, by heritage experts and professionals, and by religious and ethnic groups in service of cultural and tourism industries and in the construction of national and other group identities? How is heritage shaped by Africa’s religious and ethnic pluralism, its colonial past and its postcolonial trajectories? Finally, how can heritage serve as a means toward social, cultural and political development? These are just some of the many issues and questions addressed in this volume by scholars in law, religion and related fields.

Africa continues to be a region with strong commitments to religious freedom and religious pluralism. These, however, are rarely mere facts on the ground – they are legal, political, social, and theological projects that require considerable effort to realise. This volume – compiling the proceedings of the third annual conference of the African Consortium for Law and Religion Studies – focuses on various issues which vastly effect the understanding of religious pluralism in Africa. These include, amongst others, religious freedom as a human right, the importance of managing religious pluralism, and the permissibility of religious practice and observance in South African public schools.

The field of law and religion lies at the intersection of a variety of other disciplines, eg. law, theology, religious studies, political science, sociology and anthropology. The discussion of the relationship between law and religion, as seen from a variety of perspectives in Africa, underscores the critical importance of the issues involved in the everyday life of all citizens.

By addressing gender equality as a fundamental expression of human dignity and justice on our continent, this collage of essays by fourteen women and six men is meant to serve as a concrete alternative to aspects of gender inequality. Its format is particularly devised for use in the classroom and for critical-constructive group engagement. It could also be used in imaginative ways by clergy and in congregations as a necessary part of adult learning programmes.