The system of racial subjugation and oppression operating in South Africa until 1994, labelled Apartheid (apartness or separation), is universally known as an example of racism. It is generally associated with the Afrikaans speaking people of the country as the perpetrators, and a Christian Nationalist system of government when ascribing blame for the unjust laws of the era. What is often forgotten is that the system began in a time when such discriminatory ideas were rife throughout the western world, and South Africa was just the last country continuing to govern under overt laws of racial segregation. While the vast majority of citizens of South Africa in the twentieth century identified as Christian, both black and white, often overlooked or ignored was the role that Race Science played in justifying the policies of the time by many of South Africa's academics and politicians. Racism filtered down to the general public through them under the banner of "science."