The Unholy Matrimony of the Church and Politics in Zambia: The Dilemma of a Christian Nation
- February 9, 2021
- Posted by: RSIS Team
- Categories: IJRISS, Religion and Cultural Studies
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume V, Issue I, January 2021 | ISSN 2454–6186
The Unholy Matrimony of the Church and Politics in Zambia: The Dilemma of a Christian Nation
Magasu Oliver 1, Lubbungu Jive 2 and Mazimba Reuben 3
1,2,3Kwame Nkrumah University-Kabwe
Abstract
This study sought to establish the challenges the church faces in its involvement in issues of governance in Zambia. Currently, the country is officially a Christian nation according to the 2016 amended constitution. This study was conducted in Lusaka District. On the primary data front, the research used interviews and focus group discussions. The main participants were Churches, political parties, and government officials. The research study used a descriptive survey research design. Seventy – two (72) participants and four (4) Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) formed the sample population. The key finding was that the Church faces the challenge of division and accusations when commenting on national matters. Therefore, this study recommends that the Government should make it a policy for the Church to be accorded its legitimate role with regards to being informed, heard, and consulted on issues of governance. The Church should also be involved in politics because it is the duty of the Church to permeate public life with the spirit of Christ who fought for the dignity of human life and to illustrate in its own life the kind of life which is God’s will for society as a whole.
Key Words: Church, Governance, Politics, Justice, Christian Nation
Background and Context
From the onset, it is imperative readers understand that the title does not insinuate that the authors like Zambia being ‘a Christian Nation’ but they just want to broaden the understanding of it. The Church in this study refers to all Christian denominations that are represented especially by three church mother bodies namely; the Christian Council of Zambia (CCZ) which houses all the mainline protestant Churches, the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ) for all Pentecostal Churches in Zambia and the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB) representing all the religious orders under the Catholic Church. On the other hand, politics involves activities associated with the governance of a country. From time immemorial, the Church in Zambia has played a vital role in the political life of the people it serves. The Church’s involvement in the governance of the country can be traced from colonial times when missionaries witnessed exploitations and injustices of colonialism on the Africans. Ipenburg (1984) observes that the Church in colonial times embarked on offering education to use it as the means of dislodging colonial rule. The outstanding missionary body with this aim was the Free Church of Scotland that aimed at producing an educated elite group with critical minds. Therefore, the Lubwa Mission of the Presbyterian (Church of Scotland) managed to produce very critical young men. The first President of the Republic of Zambia (Kenneth David Kaunda) acknowledged this when he said these words:
