NAME: TUTAI OSCAR

CLASS: FIRST YEAR DIPLOMA

COURSE: Church & Society

LECTURER: REV MAPURANGA

YEAR: 2013

QUESTION: How has the church attempted to deal with the issue of

Political and economic recession in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe is multi-religious, though Christianity controls a major share of the

spiritual market. Thus the church as an institution is expected to play a major

role in the social, political and economic issues of the country. Historically the

church has been cooperating with the state closely, hence becoming a

strategic actor on issues of national interest. The writer wishes to examine

how the church has featured amid the political and economic recession in

Zimbabwe.

This paper seeks to establish if the church was really influential and what role

did they play during the transition process, from tough economic and political

situation to a more favourable environment. The churches through its leaders

have surely tried to engage the political leaders in an attempt to embrace

strategies that were going to give birth to peace in Zimbabwe. Though the

church has been a bit cautious on adopting a political stance, the have made

some efforts to resolve the challenges. Since year 2000, in the face of the

country’s full blown political and economic crisis, the church has intervened in

a notable number of ways, as it sought to contribute to a peaceful and

sustainable resolution.

David Kaulemu; says Churches have injected more inclusive, universal

perspectives into Zimbabwe’s national conflict. Though the churches have to

some extend been partisan, their partisanship has been related to a

fundamental stand against injustice, corruption, cruelty, exploitation and

unfairness. Many churches from the apostolic sects have pleaded solidarity

with the ruling party and state of Zimbabwe, putting some value in the hope

of a great Zimbabwean future.

The effectiveness of the church has been undermined by some political

leaders, who have sought to limit the church to prayers and offering guidance

on moral issues. However the church leaders have refused to subscribe to

such narrow interpretation of the mission of church and have endeavoured to

make a difference in a heavily polarised political environment.

There was need for action from the church, after the 2000 parliamentary

elections and the 2002 presidential elections were characterised by the

violence and tension. The overall climate was the one of fear and

intimidation. This is the time Jambanja (Militancy) emerged at the height of

fast track land reform programme. The rule of law was no longer a guarantee.

In many cases, the police refused to get involved in addressing cases of

violence, argue that these were ‘political’. As the crisis deepened, the church

leaders sought to encourage dialogue between the main stream political

parties with a number of initiatives. One of the most vocal was Andrew

Wutawunashe with his Faith for the nation campaign. He said that

Zimbabweans were supposed to take responsibility for the fortunes of the

country. This campaign wanted to infuse Christian ideas into the national

body of politics. For Him it was important for all Zimbabweans to put aside

their political differences and work together for the national good.

Around the same time leaders of the three main groupings, the Zimbabwe

Catholic Bishops conference (ZCBC), the Evangelical fellowship of Zimbabwe

(EFZ) and the Zimbabwe council of churches (ZCC) also started to push for

dialogue. Bishops Patrick Mutume, Sebastian Bakare and Trevor Manhanga

held meetings with leaders of the two main political parties and encouraged

them to shun divisive attitudes and to promote a shared national agenda. The

Church leaders encouraged the political leaders to consider the welfare of

ordinary Zimbabwean and unite for the cause of the ordinary Zimbabwean.

Church leaders also in those meetings pushed for a national vision and

agenda. They eluded the crisis to the absence of a shared vision of the

country’s future. This notion lead to the birth of a campaign termed, “The

Zimbabwe we want”, which was later documented as, “The Zimbabwe we

want, Towards a National Vision, A Discussion Document (ZCBC, EFZ and ZCC

2006). This Document criticised both the political forum and the religious

forum. The Document invited Zimbabweans to work towards developing a

shared national vision. It gave the Zimbabwean Christians the opportunity to

reflect on the relationship between their faith and the civic duties. The

politicians however constantly advised Christians that they had no obligation

to participate in political processes. The consultation process also helped

Christians to realise that, while they might subscribe to different political

ideologies, they all shared a common destiny.

Church leaders also issued pastoral letters that highlighted the various

aspects of the crisis for all to read, amid calls by some political leaders that

there was no crisis in Zimbabwe. The pastoral letters were really exposing

this false ascertains peddled by the official media. Some of the pastoral

letters called on the government to respect civil liberties. These letters were

not only apolitical, but also touched economic issues as they challenged the

government to tackle the severe economic crisis with greater creativity than

the endless printing of local currency. These letters positioned the church as

a major contributor in trying to solve the plight of general Zimbabweans.

Since these letters were published in an environment saturated with fear and

intimidation, the church leaders really need to be appreciated for their

courage.

Though the Zimbabwean church society failed to produce a leader in the

mould of South Africa’s Desmond Tutu or Frank Chikane, they however had

the likes of Bishop Levee Kadenge and Sifiso Mpofu of the Christian Alliance,

Bishop Anselm Magaya of the Zimbabwe National Pastors Conference and

Archbishop Pius Ncube of the ZCBC. These Individuals and their organisations

endure a lot of criticism in their quest to open the democratic space in

Zimbabwe.

Although the church has played an active role in its efforts to defuse and

resolve the Zimbabwean crisis, the effectiveness of its engagement has been

limited by a number of challenges. The Church’s major weakness in trying to

solve the Zimbabwean problems was on the ability of political leaders to

divide opinions amongst the church leaders.

The church has sought to provide effective leadership in a heavily polarised

political environment. In Particular the church leaders have challenged the

political leadership to give dialogue a chance. The church managed to call for

realistic economic policies that place the needs of the people at their centre.

But despite their noble intentions and activities the church have not had

desired impact. Divisions within the church and the lack of radical theologies

having been the major reason the church have remained of little impact.

Bibliography

1. ZCBC (Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference), EFZ (Evangelical

Fellowship of Zimbabwe) and ZCC (Zimbabwe Council of Churches).

2006. The Zimbabwe we want, Towards a National Vision for Zimbabwe:

A discussion Document. 15 September 2006.Harare: ZCBC, EFZ and

ZCC.

2. Kaulemu David 2010, “Church responses to the crisis in Zimbabwe,

“The review of Faith and International Affairs Spring 47-54”