From exclusion to embrace: Welcoming fatherless families in a diverse South Africa

Abstract

This study critically examines fatherless families across diverse societies, emphasising that paternal absence creates profound emotional, social and developmental challenges. Fatherlessness destabilises family structures and erodes social cohesion; yet practical theology offers limited inclusive engagement. Employing an exploratory design, data were collected from 25 respondents in Ikageng, Promosa and Potchefstroom (North-West, South Africa) through questionnaires, structured interviews and naïve sketches. The findings reveal exclusion, poverty, and diminished dignity, with boys prone to aggression and identity crises and girls vulnerable to insecurity and exploitation. The study contributes “streetwise ecclesiology” to restore belonging. The expression “from exclusion to embrace” delineates a transition in attitude, relationship or policy, for example, from rejecting, disregarding or alienating (excluding) an individual or family to welcoming and appreciating (embracing) them. The work of Miroslav Volf (1996) is central to the discussion of exclusion, embrace and reconciliation, which are key themes of the 2026 Society for Practical Theology in South Africa Conference and of this paper. His research focuses on the intersection of theology, public life and reconciliation in contexts of conflict and division. He explores themes of identity, otherness and the role of the church in promoting justice and healing, often drawing on his experiences and the complexities of the post-communist world, including family dynamics.