Rolling to Salvation: An Ethnographic study of the "train church"

Many theorists have formed what has been termed the secularisation theory, which outlines the decreasing value of religion in society. This book has been proved wrong many times when looking at the power religions still hold in society today. This research report has not tried to disprove this theory rather it has tried to show an example of religion in the South African society today. The religion that this research report looks at is the Pentecostal Church. The train was an unusual social setting as the people within any given coach kept changing as many people got on and off at the various stations. The religious element on the trains has been there since Apartheid, when the Train Ministry was formed ‘during the height of apartheid’ and in order ‘to quell the fears of possible attacks on the train’ and the word of God was their comfort. The Train Ministry is still around today and going strong which is reflected in the Church on the Train. This research report has studied the features of Pentecostalism, the social setting of the Metrorail trains, the Church on the Trains and finally it has summed it all up by analysing it using themes from the disciple of Sociology.