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Religions 2012, 3(2), 369-388; doi:10.3390/rel3020369

Article

Nelson Mandela and the Power of Ubuntu

Claire E. Oppenheim

Erich Lindemann Mental Health Center, 25 Staniford St., 2nd Floor, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA

Received: 27 March 2012; in revised form: 1 April 2012 / Accepted: 13 April 2012 / Published: 26 April 2012

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Spiritual Exemplars)

Download PDF Full-Text [470 KB, uploaded 26 April 2012 15:08 CEST]

Abstract: Nelson Mandela dedicated his life to fighting for the freedom of his South African kin of all colors against the institution of apartheid. He spent twenty-seven years fighting from within prison, only gaining his freedom when his fellow South Africans could claim it as well. This article demonstrates how his faith, his spiritual development and his noble purpose can be conceptualized through the lens of Ubuntu: the African ethic of community, unity, humanity and harmony.

Keywords: Ubuntu; botho; unity; community; Afro-communitarianism; humanity; apartheid

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