Abstract

The Truth and Reconciliation Committee (TRC) is a constitutional body dealing with South Africa's history of human rights abuses. A commitment to forms of religio-political language is evident in the stories presented to the TRC and in subsequent repo rts. The relationship between this religio-political language and a moral civil society is explored by analysing religious topoi in discourses reflecting the TRC's activities. Religious justification and evaluation of actions are not noticeable whilst m oral implications and assessment are often left implicit. Possibly there is continuation rather than intervention in the value systems generating these topoi.