Albert Luthuli: Bound by Faith

Many myths assert that Chief Albert Luthuli, former President of the African National Congress (ANC), launched the armed struggle on his return to South Africa after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. This misinterpretation sparks what is arguably one of the most relevant and controversial historical debates in South Africa. In what is the first substantive biography of Luthuli, Scott Couper challenges a nationalist-inspired perspective and argues that the iconic leader did not countenance the initiation of violence in December 1961.

Luthuli's ecclesiastical tradition, Congregationalism, imbedded within him the primacy of democracy, education, sacrificial service, multiracialism and egalitarianism, propelling him to the heights of political leadership. These same attributes rendered Luthuli obsolete as a political leader within an increasingly radicalised, desperate and violent environment. By not supporting the ANC's armed movement, his political career proved to be 'bound by faith'.