The Research Institute for Christianity in Southern Africa (RICSA) is based at the University of Cape Town (UCT). In 1997 the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) commissioned RICSA to advise it on setting up special hearings for the diverse faith communities of the country. The purpose of these hearings was to establish the position of religious communities during the mandated period of investigation of the TRC. Additionally, the Commission tried to establish in how far religious communities contributed to the entrenchment or the demise of Apartheid. Professors John de Gruchy and James Cochrane produced the required document based on more than thirty submissions of the various faith communities of South Africa. RICSA was also commissioned by the TRC to draft a report on the faith communities. The report – TRC FAITH COMMUNITIES REPORT – forms part of this collection.

RICSA was also tasked with drafting a report for inclusion in the TRC Final Report of 1998. The report is in Volume 4 Chapter 3 of the Final Report and is entitled “Institutional Hearing: The Faith Community”.

De Gruchy, Cochrane and Stephen Martin, who had assisted with the drafting of the report, have subsequently jointly edited a book entitled “Facing the Truth: South African Faith Communities and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which includes the full RICSA report as well as interpretative and analytical essays on the subject. The volume is published by David Philip Publishers, Cape Town in 1999.