Religion in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is largely Christian based but with diverse denominational churches from all over the world. The country however also has a wide variety of other religions but in much smaller groups who have managed to co-exist peacefully like the African traditionalists, Muslims, Judaists, Pentecostals and Catholic among others.
African Traditional Religions
In Shona and Ndebele religion, God, or the Supreme Being, is seen as the creator and sustainer of the universe in much the same manner as within Christianity. Shona Mwari (literally “He who is”), or Ndebele uMlimu, is believed to be active in the everyday lives of people. In general, people communicate with Mwari through the Vadzimu (Shona), or Amadhlozi (Ndebele). These are the deceased ancestors. The Vadzimu are believed to constitute an invisible community within the community of the living, always around their descendants, caring for them and participating in their joys and sorrows. Spirit mediums communicate with the Vadzimu on behalf of the people. In Shona religion, in addition to the guarding characteristics of the Vadzimu, there are also avenging or evil spirits, Ngozi, and witches who communicate with them.
Traditional medicine is the source of primary care for many Zimbabweans. N’angas are consulted for their political and religious powers along with their healing powers.
Protestantism was first spread in Zimbabwe in 1795 by the London Missionary Society whose aim was to spread the Christian faith into Asia and Africa. Missions were established in the country during this time, thus introducing Zimbabwe to Protestantism. Currently, there are a number of Protestant Churches in the country. Some of these include Reformed, Anglican, Evangelical, Jehovah Witness, Lutheran, Seventh-Day Adventist, Methodist, and Pentecostal churches. The Methodist, Anglican, Evangelical, Reformed and Seventh-Day Adventist churches were the first to set up their churches and missions in the country in the 1980s when Protestantism started gaining root in Zimbabwe. In 1903, the first Lutheran church was established. The first Jehovah’s Witness church was established shortly afterwards and in 1910, the first Pentecostal church was founded. A number of other religious classes within all of these groups have also been founded in the nation. All have their own missions, organizations, and churches as well.
At the moment, Protestantism is the most common religious belief in Zimbabwe. It is estimated that about 63% of the population adhere to it and the Pentecostal Church has the largest following
African Indigenous Churches
There are churches which are aimed almost exclusively at African converts, use local traditions more extensively, and have a healing focus on African issues like barrenness and bewitchment. Some have Pentecostal components but some do not (i.e. the Independent African Church).
Varying estimates of African indigenous churches in Zimbabwe can be found, ranging from 10% to 20% of the total population, in which they sometimes hold to one or more African tribal belief systems syncretised with Christianity. Although a substantial portion of the Zimbabwean population today belongs to a Christian congregation or church, people retain many of the traditional customs and beliefs in traditional religion such as Shona or Ndebele religions.
The largest African Indigenous Churches are Zion Christian church and Vapostori ‘The Apostles’ (Maranke and Masowe traditions). Others include African Apostolic, Independent African Church ad Guta RaMwari.
Pentecostal and African Initiated churches
Pentecostal Churches in Zimbabwe are almost always evangelical in character (and so are sometimes called “Evangelical Pentecostal Churches”). Accordingly, most churches of Pentecostal character in Zimbabwe belong to the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe, founded in 1962.
These churches typically emphasize the “African gifts of the spirit”, including healing. The term “African Initiated Church” (AIC) is used of any of a number of Christian churches started in Africa by Africans and not directly by missionaries from another continent. Often they contrast themselves with the so-called missionary churches and emphasize traditional gender roles and social structures. Most Pentecostal churches (with the exception of the Apostolic Faith Mission and Celebration Church) fall into the AIC category.
Some large Pentecostal churches and movements include Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe, Celebration Church, River of Life and Spirit Embassy.
Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholics in Zimbabwe number about one million (about 8% of the population) and are organised into eight dioceses. After occasional missionary efforts in earlier centuries, Catholic religious orders have been continuously present in Zimbabwe since 1879. Roman Catholics in Zimbabwe are widely engaged in secondary and higher education, missionary hospitals, social centers and crafts centers.
Baptist Churches
According to the Statistics of the Baptist World Alliance, Baptist Convention of Zimbabwe has 316 churches with 110,900 members (2005). National Baptist Convention of Zimbabwe has 64 churches with 8,500 members (2010). United Baptist Church of Zimbabwe (UBC) has 120 churches with 16,000 members (2010). The Baptist Union of Zimbabwe has 53 churches with 5,349 members (2010).
The Texas-based friends of Baptist in Zimbabwe raises funds for all these churches.
Judaism
The Zimbabwe Jewish Community is part of a greater grouping African Jewish Congress, whose spiritual leader and executive director is Rabbi Moshe Silberhaft. It once numbered 7,000 but now has only a few hundred members.
Jewish settlement dates back to the beginning of the 20th century and, in some respects, parallels that of South Africa. Today more than two-thirds of the community’s members are 65 or older. Most of the young people have left for South Africa, Israel, or elsewhere. The communities in Midlands no longer exist.
There are two synagogues in Harare: Ashkenazi and Sephardi and another in Bulawayo Ashkenazi Orthodox
Islamic Community
About 1% of Zimbabweans (100,000) are Muslim (various statistics). In the past two decades, the Islamic community has begun proselytizing among the majority indigenous population with some success.
There are mosques located in nearly all of the larger towns (including 18 mosques in the capital city of Harare, 8 mosques in Bulawayo) and a number of mosques in rural areas. The largest mosque, completed in 1982 in Harare’s suburban Ridgeview, can hold 2,000 people
Atheism in Zimbabwe
Besides all the regions mentioned above, there are others who practice Atheism. This belief has gained root in the country quite recently. This is mostly because of the introduction of the internet to the country which is easily accessible by more and more people, especially in the urban areas. The internet allows different teachings to flourish and has, therefore, enabled atheists in the country to link with each other online and established a well-constructed line of communication.
Just like other countries in the world, the largest population of atheists in Zimbabwe are young people. As of now, atheists make up close to 7% of the country’s population.
