Politics and Religion in Zimbabwe

Politics and Religion in Zimbabwe
Author: Ezra Chitando
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2020-04-03
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1000054195

This book illustrates how religion and ideology were used by Robert Mugabe to ward off opposition within his own party, in Zimbabwe and from the West. An interdisciplinary line up of contributors argue that Mugabe used a calculated narrative of deification – presenting himself as a divine figure who had the task of delivering land, freedom and confidence to black people across the world – to remain in power in Zimbabwe. The chapters highlight the appropriation and deployment of religious themes in Mugabe’s domestic and international politics, reflect on the contestation around the deification of Mugabe in Zimbabwean politics across different forms of religious expression, including African Traditional Religions and various strands of Christianity and initiate further reflections on the interface between religion and politics in Africa and globally. Politics and Religion in Zimbabwe will be of interest to scholars of religion and politics, Southern Africa and African politics.

Religious Leadership in National Political Conflict

Religious Leadership in National Political Conflict
Author: Lloyd Tichaenda Nyarota
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 114
Release: 2013-03-07
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1621895858

It is one thing for a religious leader to confront and challenge political leaders; it is altogether another thing when such a leader becomes a partisan political leader. This is what happened in the case of Bishop Abel Tendekai, a bishop of the United Methodist Church. For such a religious leader to attempt to traverse both worlds political and religious are in some ways uncharted waters; in other ways, they are treacherous waters. The pages which follow in this lucid and detailed volume is an effort to "look back" on the challenge and complexity of moving from colonialism to independence, to the making of a new independent nation on the Continent of Africa. What happens when the prophetic voice expected of and from the Church becomes the identified political entity? How does it challenge itself, or how is it distinguished from the political power it seeks to hold accountable on behalf of all the people? These are several of the questions Nyarota tackles through the examination of the impact of the struggle for liberation upon the United Methodist Church, its leader, Bishop Muzorewa, as both find themselves in the midst of nation building, political struggle, and the vying for political power.

Religion and Development in Southern and Central Africa: Vol 2

Religion and Development in Southern and Central Africa: Vol 2
Author: Amanze, James N.
Publisher: Mzuni Press
Total Pages: 476
Release: 2020-01-19
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9996060764

This book is a result of a joint conference, which was held from 18th-22nd July 2017 under the theme Religion, Citizenship and Development – Southern African Perspectives." The theme of the conference was adopted in order to underline the importance and significance of religion in the socio-economic development of people in the world generally and in Southern and Central Africa in particular. The papers in the book are divided into two volumes. Volume one consists of papers which directly discuss religion and development in one form or another. The second volume contains papers that discuss religion and other pertinent issues related to development. The papers are grouped into sub-themes for ease of reference. These include Citizenship and Development, Migration and Development, Disability and Development, Pentecostal Churches and Development and Religion and Society. All in all, despite a divergence of sub-themes in volume two, all point to issues to do with the role of religion in development in Southern and Central Africa today.

Regime, Religion and the Consolidation of Zanu-PFism in Zimbabwe

Regime, Religion and the Consolidation of Zanu-PFism in Zimbabwe
Author: Bekithemba Dube
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2023-12-14
Genre: History
ISBN: 3031460847

This collection focuses on the role of religious leaders and religious institutions in supporting or resisting the democratization process in Zimbabwe. It scrutinizes the actions of religious leaders such Andrew Wutawunashe and Jeremiah Mutendi who were prominent in the political scene and participated as enablers of the undemocratic regime. The contributors to this volume employ a variety of methodological approaches to understand the operational dilemma of the second republic under Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, commonly referred to as Zanupfism. It is an empirical study to determine the impact of religious leaders as regime enablers and assess the effects of such an approach in terms of social development, democracy, and social transformation as espoused in the rise of the second republic. In order to balance the narrative, the book highlights and offers critique of religious leaders and institutes who are the resistors of the regime. It specifically explores the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference, Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Council of Churches, Talent Chiwenga and Shingi Munyeza. This is a critical study of decoloniality in a religious context that documents characters such as Shingi Mayeza, Bishop Mutendi, Mapostori who seldomly appear in scholarship despite their great impact (either positive or negative) on the lives of the people of Zimbabwe.

Biblical Studies, Theology, Religion and Philosophy

Biblical Studies, Theology, Religion and Philosophy
Author: N. Amanze
Publisher: African Books Collective
Total Pages: 616
Release: 2012-06-28
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9966040250

This book introduces the study of Biblical studies, theology, religion and philosophy from an African perspective. The book comprises twenty six chapters divided into four sections. The first section deals with Biblical studies, the second with theology, the third with religion and the fourth with philosophy. The contributions are from 20 eminent scholars from African and Caribbean universities.

Routledge Companion to Christianity in Africa

Routledge Companion to Christianity in Africa
Author: Elias Kifon Bongmba
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 722
Release: 2015-12-22
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1134505841

The Routledge Companion to Christianity in Africa offers a multi-disciplinary analysis of the Christian tradition across the African continent and throughout a long historical span. The volume offers historical and thematic essays tracing the introduction of Christianity in Africa, as well as its growth, developments, and effects, including the lived experience of African Christians. Individual chapters address the themes of Christianity and gender, the development of African-initiated churches, the growth of Pentecostalism, and the influence of Christianity on issues of sexuality, music, and public health. This comprehensive volume will serve as a valuable overview and reference work for students and researchers worldwide.

Christianity and the African Imagination

Christianity and the African Imagination
Author: David Maxwell
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 435
Release: 2022-08-08
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004245111

During the twentieth-century, Christendom shifted its centre of gravity to the Southern Hemisphere, Africa becoming the most significant area of church growth. This volume explores Christianity’s advance across the continent, and its capturing of the African imagination. From the medieval Catholic Kingdom of Kongo to a transnational Pentecostal movement in post-colonial Zimbabwe, the chapters explore how African agents – priests and prophets, martyrs and missionaries, evangelists and catechists – have seized Christianity and made it theirs. Emphasizing popular religion, the book shows how the Christian ideas and texts, practices and symbols, which have been adapted by Africans, help them accept existential passions and empower them through faith to deal with material concerns for health and wealth, and to overcome evil.

Malawian Migration to Zimbabwe, 1900–1965

Malawian Migration to Zimbabwe, 1900–1965
Author: Zoë R. Groves
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 266
Release: 2020-11-24
Genre: History
ISBN: 3030541045

This book explores the culture of migration that emerged in Malawi in the early twentieth century as the British colony became central to labour migration in southern Africa. Migrants who travelled to Zimbabwe stayed for years or decades, and those who never returned became known as machona – ‘the lost ones’. Through an analysis of colonial archives and oral histories, this book captures a range of migrant experiences during a period of enormous political change, including the rise of nationalist politics, and the creation and demise of the Central African Federation. Following migrants from origin to destination, and in some cases back again, this book explores gender, generation, ethnicity and class, and highlights life beyond the workplace in a racially segregated city. Malawian men and women shaped the culture and politics of urban Zimbabwe in ways that remain visible today. Ultimately, the voluntary movement of Africans within the African continent raises important questions about the history of diaspora communities and the politics of belonging in post-colonial Africa.

The People’s Paper

The People’s Paper
Author: Peter Limb
Publisher: NYU Press
Total Pages: 711
Release: 2012-09-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 1868148505

This much-awaited volume uncovers the long-lost pages of the major African multilingual newspaper, Abantu-Batho. Founded in 1912 by African National Congress (ANC) convenor Pixley Seme, with assistance from the Swazi Queen, it was published up until 1931, attracting the cream of African politicians, journalists and poets Mqhayi, Nontsisi Mgqweth, and Grendon. In its pages burning issues of the day were articulated alongside cultural by-ways. The People's Paper - comprising both essays and an anthology - explores the complex movements and individuals that emerged in the almost twenty years of its publication. The essays contribute rich, new material to provide clearer insights into South African politics and intellectual life. The anthology unveils a judicious selection of never-before published columns from the paper spanning every year of its life and drawn from repositories on three continents. Abantu-Batho had a regional and international focus, and by examining all these dynamics across boundaries and disciplines, The People's Paper transcends established historiographical frontiers to fill a lacuna that scholars have long lamented.