Religion at South African universities

It appears that not only South African schools are willing to ignore the National Policy on Religion and Education (pdf). As previously observed, certain schools routinely violate the requirement that religious instruction needs to focus on religion in general – allowing for freedom of belief by not requiring that students are exposed to only one religion,… Continue reading Religion at South African universities

Bill of Responsibilities

Note: this is an edited version of a column for The Daily Maverick It has been a month since the department of education, LeadSA and the National Religious Leaders’ Forum launched their Bill of Responsibilities. Some criticisms of the bill were forthcoming from Ivo Vegter, Khadija Patel and myself (here, here and here). We had concerns… Continue reading Bill of Responsibilities

Quacks like Patrick Holdford find receptive audiences in South Africa

Patrick Holford is one of the many nutritionists, doctors or specialists of one form or another who make a living by selling false or misleading promises. Sometimes, they even endorse harmful remedies, or harmful avoidance of effective remedies, as is the case with Holford’s association with HIV denialism (and Scientology). Why does a national chain… Continue reading Quacks like Patrick Holdford find receptive audiences in South Africa