“Yes, our faith preaches love, but [this is] reality”: Agency or Lived Discrepancy between Religious Views and Practices in the Context of Xenophobia in South Africa?

The existing literature on the role of religion in addressing xenophobia in South Africa has focused predominantly on Christianity, despite documented evidence of the involvement of other religions in campaigns against it. Our study is based on individual interviews with adherents of Christianity, Islam, and African religion/spirituality who reside in Soweto-South Africa. We argue that there are inconsistencies between the religious perceptions that people hold and how these perceptions are translated into experiences of migration in South Africa. From the perspective of the epistemology of research participants such discrepancies can be regarded as part of the search for agency in response to the socio-economic disparity in South Africa, as people interpret their religious perceptions in the light of everyday realities. However, alternative meanings for such discrepancies can be identified.