Narrating the Spirit of Justice

• Jurisdiction: South Africa
• Citation: 2007 Acta Juridica 193
• Pages: 193-208
• Date: 15 August 2019
• Published date: 15 August 2019

Narrating the Spirit of Justice

CARL STAUFFER*

Regional Peace Network, Southern Africa

I INTRODUCTION

If one were to take a cursory glance at the discourses that dominate the

studies of religion and justice, one might conclude that both of these

disciplines lend themselves to ‘worldviews’ of polarities. Hence, some

readers of this paper may already be feeling a discord when the

conceptions of ‘spirit’ and ‘justice’ are joined together. The division

between that which is secular (non-religious) and that which is sacred

(religious) is often presented as compartmentally def‌initive and therefore,

separate. Thus, in many circles of thought, the process of satisfying

human ‘justice’ is conceived of as a public, secular undertaking and the

process of spiritual ‘transformation’ is relegated to a private, sacred

happening that occurs within the conf‌ines of specif‌ic religious strictures.

This paper argues that dichotomous thinking of this kind imposes

artif‌icial categorisations on the realities of human existence, inter-

relationship, and connectivity; all of which are core values of, and

inextricably intertwined with people-centred justice.

Blaise Pascal once said: ‘Our hearts have reasons; that reason will never

understand.’

1

Instead of seeing the many parts that make up a collective

whole, the polities of faith and legal justice practice often tend to splinter

and fragment these diverse facets of life (the so-called ‘sacred’ and the

‘secular’ elements) that can only truly be understood and fully appreciated

when embraced as a cohesive totality. Aff‌iliation for this integrated

perspective of life can be found in the words of Duncan B. Forrester:

‘A public sphere from which religion is excluded is deprived of a great source

of determination, hope and vision.’

2

This paper aims to present an alternative view to the current

conceptions of justice; its nature, values, and how it is accomplished. The

following arguments are promulgated:

• That genuine human justice is inherently a ‘spiritual’ endeavour;

• that the service and results of justice will be enhanced by

intentionally introducing certain elements and skills of spiritual

formation into the process; and

* BA (Social Work and Religious Studies) MA (Conf‌lict Transformation) (Eastern

Mennonite University,USA); Co-ordinator of the Regional Peace Network, Southern Africa,

under the auspices of the Mennonite Central Committee.

1

B Pascal Pensées (1958) at 277.

2

D B Forrester ‘Christian justice and public policy’ 10 Cambridge Studies in Religion and

Ideology (1997) 10 at 30.

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2007 Acta Juridica 193

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• that it is in the crucible of the spiritual practice of justice that the

space for human transformation is opened up, and religious

coercion is guarded against.

II HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Before venturing further into this paper, it is imperative that a brief

historical context be established. The very conception of justice is rooted

in the spiritual. The current global legal system (primarily based on

variations of western Roman-Dutch law and thought) is in fact built on

the foundations of ancient religious values that gave def‌inition and

meaning to life and the relational practice of community. Much of the

modern legal system and the international human rights charters are based

on ancient codes of law whose roots go back to the Law of Moses, which

is shared by three of the world’s monotheistic religions. The ‘secular-

sacred’ divide in the public discourse and the administration of justice has

its origins in Greek thought where a legal-philosophical worldview

epitomised the idea that the human condition can be compartmentalised

into dual worlds – the physical and the spiritual.

With the rise of the post-modern age, this dichotomous view of reality

has begun to lose its credence, fading into the shadows of a pluralistic

existence. It is the author’s belief that the rise of restorative justice

3

as a

burgeoning f‌ield of theory and practice in the last three decades is

symptomatic of this shift in thinking about what it means to be ‘holistic’

beings. The locus of life-meaning emerges out of networks of synergetic

linkage between the material, relational and symbolic realms of thought

and action. Precipitated by the rise of restorative justice, we now see a

global movement that is rapidly surfacing ancient forms of indigenous

justice practice – all of which have deep spiritual roots.

III SPIRITUALITY, JUSTICE AND THE MEANING OF LIFE

‘The myth of secularisation is dead,’ so says Harvey Cox.

4

Author

Michael Hadley turns the very categorisation of secularisation on its head

by referring to it as a ‘faith’ in and of itself:

‘By relegating religion to the sidelines of public discourses and the

formulation of public policy, the state enthrones secularism as the dominant

faith.’

5

3

H Zehr Changing Lenses: A New Focus for Crime and Punishment (1990).According to Zehr

(at 181) Restorative Justice sees ‘crime as a violation of people and relationships. It creates

obligations to make things right. Justice involves the victim, the offender, and the community

in a search for solutions which promote repair, reconciliation, and reassurance.’

4

H Cox ‘The Myth of the Twentieth Century: The Rise and Fall of Secularization’ in

Gregory Baum (ed) The Twentieth Century Theological Overview (1999) 135 at 139.

5

M L Hadley (ed) The Spiritual Roots of Restorative Justice (2001) at 3.

194 RESTORATIVE JUSTICE:POLITICS,POLICIES AND PROSPECTS

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