Abstract
This article explores the complex history of Church-State relations in Zimbabwe, which have shifted between collaboration, co-option, and resistance. These dynamics have left significant social and political impacts. During the colonial era, the Church both justified domination and provided essential services like education and healthcare. This changed during the liberation struggle when it adopted a prophetic voice for justice. Following independence, under Robert Mugabe, church leaders were deeply divided – some supporting authoritarian rule, others opposing it at great personal risk. This pattern of division and co-option continues today, weakening the Church’s public credibility and influence. The central question is how churches can engage with the state using an integrated prophetic and pastoral approach. We argue that a gospel-informed public ministry, guided by an ethics rooted in Christ’s Lordship, is necessary. This ministry must resist co-option, engage strategically with social realities, and combine courageous truth-telling with compassionate solidarity. Drawing on historical, theological, and social analysis, we identify six core principles for this approach: prophetic witness, pastoral solidarity, holistic engagement, theological grounding, unity of witness, and a commitment to hope and reconciliation. By embracing these principles, the Church can reclaim its influential public role, challenge injustice, and promote human flourishing in Zimbabwe.
Contribution: The article adopts an interdisciplinary approach, integrating insights from public theology, practical theology, and pastoral care to inform church public praxis.
Keywords: Church-State relations; public pastoral care; church and politics in Zimbabwe; integrated prophetic and pastoral approach; pastoral care and politics; church in Zimbabwe.
Introduction
Zimbabwe continues to grapple with political instability, economic fragility, and social fragmentation that test the moral authority of the Church. Throughout history, the Church’s role in relation to the State has oscillated between complicity and courage, legitimising oppressive structures at some moments while resisting injustice at others. This mixed legacy raises an urgent question: What should be the central tenets of a robust, gospel-informed public pastoral ministry in Zimbabwe, given the historical stances and responses of the Church?
The objective of this article is to critically examine how historical and evolving Church-State relations have impacted Zimbabwean communities and to articulate theological principles for a public pastoral care (PPC) ministry that is both prophetic and pastoral. To achieve this, the article: (1) traces the historical development of Church-State relations across four key eras, (2) analyses their social, political, and human consequences, and (3) develops a constructive, gospel-grounded framework for a public pastoral ministry that resists co-option, fosters reconciliation, and engages the public sphere faithfully.
This study adopts a historical-theological approach. It draws on historical sources to examine Church-State relations in Zimbabwe across four distinct periods – colonial, liberation, Mugabe, and post-Mugabe. The analysis gives particular attention to the social and community-level impacts of these dynamics, highlighting both empowerment and betrayal. Building on this historical foundation, the article presents a theological reflection on the prophetic and pastoral dimensions of the Church’s vocation. Finally, it proposes a framework for gospel-informed PPC that directly addresses Zimbabwe’s current socio-political realities.
To locate the article in church-state relations and PPC, which is our focus, it is worthwhile to note that the theological debate on church-state relations, spanning from Abraham Kuyper’s principle of Sphere Sovereignty (Kuyper 1998) to Stanley Hauerwas’s emphasis on the church as a contrast society (Hauerwas 1981), reveals a spectrum of engagement models. Kuyper sought structural separation, ensuring the organic church acted under Christ’s kingship in all spheres. Conversely, Barth (1946) and Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Zimmermann 2019) grounded the state’s legitimacy Christologically, mandating that the church offer prophetic witness. This prophetic critique escalates in the work of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and John W. de Gruchy (1986), whose contextual ecclesiology calls for active resistance against state injustice, as seen during apartheid. Integrating these perspectives, Vhumani Magezi’s PPC model provides the practical bridge, translating the theological mandate for justice into a socially engaged, holistic ministry that moves beyond internal church settings (Nanthambwe & Magezi 2022). Public pastoral care embodies the church’s political witness by addressing socio-economic issues in the public square, thereby operationalising the call for justice and flourishing inherent in the models of Barth, Bonhoeffer, and De Gruchy, and providing concrete action for Kuyper’s organic church. Thus, the article is informed by Magezi’s (2020) innovative model of PPC.
Historical development of Church-State relations in Zimbabwe
To appreciate the Church’s contemporary struggles and possibilities, it is necessary to locate them within their historical development. The present role of the Church in Zimbabwe cannot be adequately understood apart from the history of its interaction with political power. The relationship between the Church and the State has never been static; instead, it has shifted across successive eras in ways that have alternately legitimised domination, contested injustice, and shaped the lived realities of communities. This survey traces that development across four key periods: colonial rule, the liberation struggle, the Mugabe era, and the post-Mugabe period. Each stage reveals discernible patterns of collaboration, complicity, resistance, and prophetic witness, and highlights their consequences for ordinary Zimbabweans. By following this trajectory, the analysis not only demonstrates how historical dynamics continue to influence the Church’s credibility and witness but also provides a critical foundation for reimagining a gospel-informed public pastoral ministry in the present socio-political context.
Colonial era
Church–State relations during colonial Zimbabwe were primarily characterised by collaboration, serving the interests of both missionaries and the settler State (Dachs & Rea 1979; Gundani 2019; Harold-Barry 2022; Linden 1980; Thomas 1985; Zvobgo 1991). Missionaries gained protection, land, and infrastructure to advance evangelism, education, and healthcare, while the State secured moral legitimacy and compliance through religious influence (Gundani 2019:78; Ruzivo 2017:2). Cecil Rhodes strategically allied with mission bodies such as the Anglicans, Methodists, and American Board to strengthen imperial control (Gundani 2019:79; Linden 1980:8).
For communities, this collaboration was a double-edged sword. On the one hand, missionary schools and hospitals improved literacy and healthcare (Maenzanise 2008:68–70; Ruzivo 2017). On the other hand, they often reinforced cultural assimilation and racial hierarchies, creating a compliant African workforce for colonial industries (Harold-Barry 2022). Land dispossession illustrates the moral tension: missionaries accepted settler-led land segregation, with limited advocacy for indigenous land rights (Harold-Barry 2022). When King Lobengula resisted Christian conversion, the London Missionary Society (LMS) actively supported the dismantling of the Ndebele State through the BSAC, effectively advancing colonisation in the name of the gospel (Dachs & Rea 1979:20; Thomas 1985:115).
Ordinary Africans experienced both empowerment and betrayal. While some gained literacy and limited upward mobility, many were subjected to dispossession, cultural erasure, and systemic inequality. As Bishop Dodge lamented, some missionaries feared promoting Africans lest it displace their own privilege (Dodge 1964:32). Thus, the colonial Church became a space of both opportunity and complicity, leaving communities ambivalent towards Christian institutions.
Liberation era
The rise of African nationalism between 1959 and 1979 forced the Church to re-evaluate its ties to colonial structures. Many Zimbabweans viewed the Church as aligned with their oppressors, accusing missionaries of distracting them with prayer while their land was seized (Linden 1980:59). This prompted some denominations to shift towards resistance. Leaders like Bishop Abel Muzorewa articulated a holistic gospel of liberation: ‘The whole gospel for the whole person … leads many to Christ as liberator’ (Muzorewa 1978). Catholic bishops and Protestant leaders jointly opposed racialised constitutional reforms, citing the New Testament’s rejection of discrimination (Peaden 1979:201).
For ordinary Zimbabweans, this was a turning point. Churches became spaces of refuge and resistance, where pastoral care was redefined to include advocacy, protection, and even recruitment for the liberation struggle (Baloyi 2022:22; Maenzanise 2008:79, 88; Magezi 2019:1, 8). Communities traumatised by settler violence found in the Church both a spiritual sanctuary and a platform for political empowerment. However, divisions persisted: while Catholic and Protestant leaders confronted injustice, the Dutch Reformed Church distanced itself, prioritising ‘apolitical’ spirituality (Thomas 1985:124).
Thus, the liberation struggle transformed the Church into an agent of societal mobilisation. Its prophetic witness empowered communities to see the gospel as both spiritual and political, connecting salvation with freedom from oppression. Yet this also set the stage for expectations that the Church would remain a consistent advocate for justice in the post-independence era.
Mugabe era
The attainment of independence in 1980 initially fostered optimism. Mugabe’s policy of reconciliation resonated with Christian values, enabling Church-State collaboration in education, healthcare, and reconstruction (Chimhanda 2009; Chitando 2002; Manyonganise 2020; Ruzivo 2020:17; Zakeyo 2012). Yet this honeymoon was short-lived. The Gukurahundi massacres in the 1980s forced churches, particularly the Catholic bishops, into a prophetic role, issuing pastoral letters condemning atrocities (Alexander, McGregor & Ranger 2000).
For affected communities, the Church’s response was uneven. Survivors of Gukurahundi received spiritual comfort and humanitarian aid from some churches, but many others remained silent, leaving victims feeling abandoned. As economic collapse deepened in the 1990s, ecumenical bodies like the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) and Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference (ZCBC) issued critical statements, while Pentecostal leaders increasingly aligned with Zimbabwe African National Union–Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), providing spiritual legitimacy in exchange for state patronage (Dombo 2014; Maxwell 2000:262; Zakeyo 2012:12).
At the grassroots, this polarisation fractured communities. Congregants heard conflicting messages from their leaders; some condemning corruption and violence, others praising the government. Ordinary Zimbabweans, already battered by hyperinflation and unemployment, lost confidence in the Church as a unified moral voice. Instead of finding consistent advocacy, they witnessed church leaders receiving state favours while communities starved. As Gunda (2018) and Manyonganise (2022) observe, political co-option created suspicion between Christians, weakening communal trust and eroding the Church’s prophetic credibility.
Thus, during the Mugabe era, the Church’s mixed witness left communities oscillating between empowerment through prophetic advocacy and betrayal through ecclesial complicity.
Post-Mugabe era
The ousting of Mugabe in 2017 raised hopes of renewal. Mnangagwa framed his rise as divinely ordained, ‘the voice of the people is the voice of God’ (Mudzanire & Banda 2021:1–3) and initially courted religious legitimacy. Yet continuity quickly outweighed change. Church-State relations remain compromised, with compliant pastors praised and rewarded while critical voices are marginalised (Magezi & Tagwirei 2022:1; Mujinga 2018:248).
For communities, this has translated into continued polarisation. Some believers, influenced by young Pentecostal leaders like Eubert Angel and Passion Java, interpret state policies as divinely sanctioned (Dube 2021:6–7). Others, especially within ZCC, ZCBC, and Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (EFZ) circles, continue to call for accountability and justice. This divide leaves congregations fragmented, with Christians suspicious of one another’s political and theological allegiances. Meanwhile, ordinary citizens face the same burdens of poverty, corruption, and repression as under Mugabe, often without a consistent or united pastoral voice to address their suffering.
The persistence of co-option and selective patronage illustrates how historical patterns of manipulation still shape the Church’s public role. Communities remain caught between hopeful rhetoric and lived disillusionment, highlighting the urgent need for a public pastoral ministry that can restore credibility and unify the Church’s fractured witness.
Lessons from history for communities and the church
The historical trajectory of Church–State relations in Zimbabwe demonstrates that the Church’s witness has profoundly shaped, and at times wounded, its communities. In the colonial era, missionary collaboration brought education and healthcare but also reinforced land dispossession and cultural subjugation (Dachs & Rea 1979; Gundani 2019; Harold-Barry 2022). Communities experienced both empowerment and betrayal. During the liberation struggle, the Church’s prophetic witness empowered communities to see the gospel as inseparable from justice and freedom (Baloyi 2022; Muzorewa 1978; Peaden 1979). Yet in the Mugabe era, polarisation and co-option fractured congregations, leaving ordinary believers uncertain whether the Church stood with the oppressed or the powerful (Dombo 2014; Gunda 2018; Manyonganise 2022; Maxwell 2000). The post-Mugabe period has only deepened this ambivalence, with some pastors openly endorsing the State while others call for accountability, further dividing communities (Dube 2021; Magezi & Tagwirei 2022).
For Zimbabwean Christians, these shifting patterns have led to alternating experiences of pastoral empowerment and abandonment. At their best, churches protected victims, championed justice, and built resilience. At their worst, they legitimised oppression, overlooked suffering, and damaged trust. For the Church itself, this inconsistency has created a credibility crisis: many Zimbabweans doubt whether the Church is a true prophetic voice for God’s justice or simply a chaplain to the State.
This history implies that a renewed public pastoral ministry must directly address the wounds of communities, resist the temptation of co-option, and integrate pastoral solidarity with prophetic truth-telling. Only such a ministry can restore credibility, rebuild trust, and contribute meaningfully to Zimbabwe’s ongoing quest for justice, reconciliation, and human flourishing.
Theological implications for public pastoral care
A key lesson from this history is that the Church has often lacked a consistent theological framework for public engagement. Its witness swung between extremes: at times offering prophetic critique but neglecting pastoral presence, at other times providing social services but ignoring structural injustice. This fragmentation distorted the Church’s mission and confused communities, who often experienced prophecy without compassion or care, without truth.
Theologically, this demonstrates the necessity of an integrated framework that holds together the prophetic and pastoral dimensions of ministry. This is where the gospel offers the essential foundation. As Padilla (2010:104) reminds us, ‘The what of the gospel determines the how of its effects in practical life’. At its core, the gospel (euangelion) signifies momentous, world-changing news (Padilla 2010:104). In the Greco-Roman world, the term announced victories or imperial decrees, but the early Church adopted it to proclaim a much greater reality (Horsley 2003; Wright 2015). The gospel announces God’s kingdom of justice, reconciliation, and peace (Mk 1:14–15; Lk 4:18–19; Rv 21:1–5). Hence, the need to adopt a gospel-centred and gospel-driven public pastoral ministry.
By gospel-centred, we mean that the content, norm, and goal of the Church’s public witness are rooted in this kingdom reality. The gospel guides public ministry towards justice, reconciliation, and human dignity (Lk 4:18–19; Mi 6:8; 2 Cor 5:18–20). By gospel-driven, we mean that the gospel not only defines but also energises the Church’s engagement. Because the gospel assures us that God’s kingdom will be realised, it inspires courage to challenge oppressive power, compassion to support the vulnerable, and perseverance in pursuing reconciliation – even when these commitments are costly. Gospel-centredness addresses the ‘why’ and ‘what’ of public ministry, while gospel-drivenness concerns the ‘how’ and ‘with what energy’.
For Zimbabwe, this means that PPC cannot be fragmented into ‘spiritual’ and ‘political’ domains, as some evangelical and Pentecostal bodies did in the 1990s (Mangwende 2017:50; Zakeyo 2012:22). Instead, it must embody both prophetic witnesses, courageously confronting corruption, violence, and injustice, and pastoral solidarity, accompanying victims of trauma, poverty, and marginalisation. These two callings are not opposites but complementary expressions of the gospel’s power.
Therefore, the theological implication is clear: the Zimbabwean Church must ground its public witness in the gospel itself, which integrates justice and mercy, truth and compassion. A gospel-informed public pastoral ministry resists political manipulation, restores moral credibility, and offers a consistent, healing presence to communities long scarred by cycles of betrayal and disillusionment.
Building on these theological insights, it becomes clear that the credibility of the Church in Zimbabwe depends on holding together gospel-centredness (faithful to Christ’s message) and gospel-drivenness (active engagement in the world). History shows the dangers of neglecting one or the other: churches that were centred but not driven often retreated into safe orthodoxy, while those that were driven but not centred drifted into shallow activism or political co-option. To overcome these distortions, the Church requires an integrated framework that resists fragmentation and grounds its public ministry in both prophetic courage and pastoral compassion. Figure 1 illustrates this framework, showing the balance between gospel-centredness and gospel-drivenness and highlighting the quadrant where a faithful public pastoral ministry emerges.
 |
FIGURE 1: Framework indicating the balance between gospel-centredness and gospel-drivenness. |
|
This framework, as illustrated in Figure 1, demonstrates that the Church’s effectiveness in the public square relies on balancing both gospel-centredness (faithfulness to the message of Christ) and gospel-drivenness (active living out of that message). When gospel-centredness is high but gospel-drivenness is low, the Church risks retreating into safe orthodoxy, affirming correct beliefs but causing little change in society. Conversely, if gospel-drivenness is high but not rooted in the gospel, the Church may slip into activism lacking theological depth, often aligning with partisan interests or leading to burnout. When both are low, the Church risks becoming irrelevant, merely serving as a chaplain to the status quo, blessing existing systems without prophetic challenge or pastoral care. The ideal position is the quadrant where both gospel-centredness and gospel-drivenness are high. In this space, the Church embodies integrated PPC, characterised by truth-telling that challenges injustice (prophetic mandate) and solidarity with the broken (pastoral mandate). In this quadrant, the Church embodies both justice and mercy in the public sphere, offering a credible and transformative witness to Zimbabwean communities. Resisting the historical swings between prophetic challenge and pastoral comfort, anchoring both in the good news of Jesus Christ.
The way forward: Integrative ministry
The tensions and possibilities explored above raise a critical question: How can the Church in Zimbabwe embody a ministry that is both gospel-centred and gospel-driven in the public sphere? Historical experience shows that the Church’s engagement has often been shaped, and at times constrained, by its relationship with political power, limiting its prophetic voice or restricting its pastoral action. This record highlights both the dangers of co-option and the transformative potential of faithful public witness, calling for a ministry that integrates prophetic truth-telling with compassionate care under the Lordship of Christ.
Such a ministry must be firmly grounded in the gospel and attentive to the lived realities of Zimbabwe’s people. The Church cannot detach from the daily experiences of suffering, nor can it merely make noise without strategic discernment. Its ministry is rooted in the public space, where people live out their struggles, hopes, and aspirations. By uniting prophetic confrontation with pastoral compassion, the Church maintains relevance and credibility, resists co-option, avoids irrelevance, and bears witness to the transformative power of Christ’s gospel.
This vision can be operationalised through six central tenets:
Prophetic witness as a non-negotiable calling
Obedience to God’s justice requires speaking truth to power even when it is costly. In Zimbabwe, prophetic silence during Gukurahundi left communities traumatised and betrayed, while prophetic courage from Catholic bishops provided rare advocacy for victims (Alexander et al. 2000). A robust public pastoral ministry must therefore recover fearless truth-telling, denouncing corruption, electoral violence, and economic injustice, while remaining rooted in Scripture rather than partisan politics. Communities need to see the Church as a consistent advocate, not as an ally of power.
Pastoral solidarity with the vulnerable
Prophetic denunciation without compassionate accompaniment leaves wounds unhealed. Communities devastated by hyperinflation, displacement, and political violence often experience churches as distant or selective in their care (Manyonganise 2020; Ruzivo 2020). A gospel-informed ministry must embody solidarity by walking alongside the poor, widows, orphans, and survivors of political trauma, offering not only aid but also long-term accompaniment through counselling, advocacy, and community development. True pastoral care listens, laments, and acts with those who suffer.
Holistic engagement with life’s realities
Churches in the 1990s often separated spiritual, social, and political concerns, focusing narrowly on evangelism while ignoring governance crises (Mangwende 2017:50; Zakeyo 2012:22). Yet for ordinary believers, hunger, unemployment, and state violence were inseparable from their faith experience. Holistic engagement means rejecting this fragmentation. A gospel-informed ministry integrates worship with advocacy, evangelism with justice, and discipleship with community renewal. This ensures that preaching Christ’s kingdom includes addressing school fees, healthcare access, and corruption in public services.
Theological grounding as protection against co-option
History shows how churches and pastors – whether missionary societies under Rhodes (Harold-Barry 2022) or Pentecostal leaders aligned with ZANU-PF (Dombo 2014; Maxwell 2000) – were co-opted by political power when lacking a strong theological compass. For communities, this meant pulpits endorsing oppressive regimes rather than proclaiming God’s justice. A deeply biblical and theological grounding provides discernment, resilience, and consistency. It enables leaders to distinguish between authentic partnership for the common good and dangerous collusion that betrays the gospel.
Unity of witness through ecumenical collaboration
Church divisions during both the liberation and Mugabe eras fragmented the prophetic voice and confused communities (Gundani 2008; Zakeyo 2012). Ordinary Christians often saw rival churches preaching conflicting messages about politics, creating suspicion and weakening credibility. Unity of witness, through ecumenical collaboration, restores trust and amplifies the Church’s influence. When Catholics, Protestants, Pentecostals, and African Initiated Churches speak together on issues such as corruption, violence or poverty, their voice carries moral weight and fosters national healing.
Commitment to hope and reconciliation
Zimbabwean communities have endured deep wounds from colonial dispossession, liberation war violence, Gukurahundi massacres, economic collapse, and political repression. These scars fuel cycles of bitterness and polarisation. A gospel-informed ministry must embody hope rooted in Christ’s resurrection (Rv 21:1–5) and reconciliation grounded in his cross (2 Cor 5:18–20). This involves fostering spaces for truth-telling, forgiveness, and healing at both local and national levels. Communities need to see the Church as a reconciler that resists despair, sustains hope, and nurtures resilience in the face of brokenness.
These tenets are not optional emphases, but vital commitments. They serve as warnings from history and offer constructive guidance for the future, ensuring the Zimbabwean Church engages the public faithfully, strategically, and transformatively, embodying a ministry that is simultaneously prophetic, pastoral, gospel-centred, and gospel-driven.
Conclusion
The historical trajectory of Church–State relations in Zimbabwe reveals a Church caught between complicity and courage, with profound consequences for its credibility and the trust of communities. Too often, the Church has either retreated into safe spirituality or been co-opted into political projects, leaving vulnerable people without a consistent voice of hope. Yet history also shows moments when the Church’s prophetic witness and pastoral care converged to foster resilience and transformation.
A gospel-informed public pastoral ministry must build on these lessons, integrating prophetic courage with pastoral solidarity. This means fearlessly confronting corruption and injustice, while also binding up the wounds of communities scarred by poverty, violence, and division. It calls for unity across denominations, theological depth to resist manipulation, and a persistent commitment to reconciliation and hope.
If embraced, this vision could reposition the Zimbabwean Church not as a passive chaplain to the State, nor as a partisan actor, but as a credible, transformative force in the public sphere. Such a ministry would reclaim the Church’s prophetic integrity, embody Christ’s compassion in public life, and contribute to the flourishing of Zimbabwe’s people in ways that mirror the gospel’s power for justice, peace, and renewal.
Acknowledgements
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no financial or personal relationships that may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article.
CRediT authorship contribution
Vhumani Magezi: Conceptualisation, Formal analysis, Methodology, Supervision, Validation, Writing – review & editing. Priviledge Tafirei: Conceptualisation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. All authors reviewed the article, contributed to the discussion of results, approved the final version for submission and publication, and take responsibility for the integrity of its findings.
Ethical considerations
Ethical clearance to conduct this study was obtained from the North-West University, Theology Research Ethics Committee (No. NWU/00874/24/A6).
Funding information
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Data availability
Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analysed in this study.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and are the product of professional research. They do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any affiliated institution, funder, agency or that of the publisher. The authors are responsible for this article’s results, findings and content.
References
Alexander, J., Gregor, J. & Ranger, T., 2000, ‘Violence and memory: One hundred years in the “Dark Forests” of Matabeleland’, African Studies Review 244(3), 122–125. https://doi.org/10.2307/525620
Baloyi, E., 2022, ‘The church and politics in Zimbabwe’, African Theological Journal for Church and Society 3(2), 20–38.
Barth, K., 1946, Kirchliche Dogmatik III/4 [Church Dogmatics III/4], Evangelischer Verlag, Zollikon-Zürich.
Chimhanda, F., 2009, ‘Church involvement in the transition to democracy in post-colonial Zimbabwe (1980–2008)’, Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae 35(1), 103–118.
Chitando, E., 2002, ‘Down with the devil, forward with Christ! A study of the interface between religious and political discourses in Zimbabwe’, African Sociological Review / Revue Africaine de Sociologie 6(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.4314/asr.v6i1.23200
Dachs, A.J. & Rea, W., 1979, The catholic church and Zimbabwe, 1879–1979, Mambo Press, Gwelo.
De Gruchy, J.W., 1986, The church struggle in South Africa, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, MI.
Dodge, R.E., 1964, The unpopular missionary, F.H. Revell Co., Westwood, NJ.
Dombo, S., 2014, ‘Refusing to be co-opted? Church organizations and reconciliation in Zimbabwe with special reference to the Christian alliance of Zimbabwe 2005–2013’, Journal for the Study of Religion 27(2), 137–171.
Dube, B., 2021, ‘To hell with bishops: Rethinking the nexus of state, law and religion in times of crisis in Zimbabwe’, Religions 12(5), 304. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12050304
Gunda, R.M., 2018, At the crossroads: A call to Christians to act in faith for an alternative Zimbabwe, University of Bamberg Press, Bamberg.
Gundani, P., 2008, ‘Prophecy, politics and power: Changing relations between the Catholic church and the Zimbabwean state (1980–2007)’, Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae 34(1), 211–244.
Gundani, P., 2019, ‘The just war tradition in Zimbabwean historiography: Dis/entangling the gordian knot between religion and morality of war’, Missionalia: Southern African Journal of Missiology 47(1), 75–96. https://doi.org/10.7832/47-1-301
Harold-Barry, D., 2022, A mission divided [Perlego], Weaver Press, viewed 25 March 2024, from https://www.perlego.com/book/3562435/a-mission-divided-the-jesuit-presence-in-zimbabwe-18792021-pdf.
Hauerwas, S., 1981, A community of character: Toward a constructive Christian social ethic, University of Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame, IN.
Horsley, R.A., 2003, Jesus and Empire: The Kingdom of God and the new world disorder, Fortress Press, Minneapolis.
Kuyper, A., 1998, ‘Sphere sovereignty’, in J.D. Bratt (ed.), Abraham Kuyper: A Centennial Reader, pp. 461–490, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, MI. (Original work c. 1880).
Linden, I., 1980, The Catholic church and the struggle for Zimbabwe, Longman, London.
Maenzanise, B., 2008, ‘The church and Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle’, Methodist History 46(2), 68–86.
Magezi, C. & Tagwirei, K., 2022, ‘A critical assessment of church and political engagement in Zimbabwe under the new dispensation’, Verbum et Ecclesia 43(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.4102/ve.v43i1.2527
Magezi, V., 2019, ‘Doing public pastoral care through church-driven development in Africa: Reflection on church and community mobilisation process approach in Lesotho’, HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 75(4), a5501. https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v75i4.5501
Magezi, V., 2020, ‘From the heart to the public? Public pastoral care to foster community healing, peace and transformation’, in J.-A. van den Berg & C.A.M. Hermans (eds.), Battle for the heart: How (not) to transform church and society, pp. 61–78, Lit Verlag, Zurich.
Mangwende, N., 2017, ‘The role of the church in participatory democracy in post independent Zimbabwe: A case study of the evangelical fellowship of Zimbabwe’, Dissertation MA thesis, Africa University.
Manyonganise, M., 2020, ‘Together for development? The Zimbabwe council of churches, the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops conference and the evangelical fellowship of Zimbabwe’, in E. Chitando (ed.), The Zimbabwe council of churches and development in Zimbabwe, pp. 37–50, Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Manyonganise, M., 2022. ‘“The March is not Ended”: “Church” confronting the State over the Zimbabwean crisis’, Religions 13, 107. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13020107
Maxwell, D., 2000, ‘Catch the cockerel before dawn: Pentacostalism and politics in post -colonial Zimbabwe’, Journal of the International African Institute 70(2), 249–277. https://doi.org/10.3366/afr.2000.70.2.249
Mudzanire, S. & Banda, C., 2021, ‘Mocking the just God? A theological critique of President Mnangagwa’s use of the name of God to justify his rule in Zimbabwe’, Verbum et Ecclesia 42(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.4102/ve.v42i1.2218
Mujinga, M., 2018, ‘Religion as a riding horse of politics? A critical evaluation of political influence in the Zimbabwean ecclesiastical life’, Alternation 23(1), 244–265. https://doi.org/10.29086/2519-5476/2018/sp23a11
Muzorewa, A.T., 1978, Rise up and walk: The autobiography of Bishop Abel Tendekai Muzorewa, Abingdon Press, Nashville.
Nanthambwe, P. & Magezi, V., 2022, ‘Community development as an embodiment of pastoral care in Africa: A public practical theology perspective’, Stellenbosch Theological Journal 8(2), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.17570/stj.2022.v8n2.a8
Padilla, R., 2010, Mission between the times [Perlego], Langham Global Library, viewed 26 August 2025, from https://www.perlego.com/book/562839.
Peaden, W.R., 1979, ‘Aspects of the church and its political involvement in southern Rhodesia, 1959–1972’, Zambezia 7(2), 191–210. https://doi.org/10.10520/AJA03790622_530
Ruzivo, M., 2017, ‘Ecumenical initiatives in southern Rhodesia: A history of the southern Rhodesia missionary conference 1903–1945’, Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae 43(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.17159/2412-4265/2016/1000
Ruzivo, M., 2020, ‘The Zimbabwe council of churches, politics and development from 1980 to 2015’, in E. Chitando (ed.), The Zimbabwe council of churches and development in Zimbabwe, pp. 13–36, Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Thomas, N.E., 1985, ‘Church and state in Zimbabwe’, Journal of Church and State 27(1), 113–133. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcs/27.1.113
Wright, T., 2015, Simply good news [Perlego], SPCK Publishing, viewed 26 August 2025, from https://www.perlego.com/book/1469855.
Zakeyo, M., 2012, ‘The church, politics and the future of Zimbabwe’, Religion in the Public Sphere 1(8), 211–235.
Zimmermann, J., 2019, Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Christian humanism, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Zvobgo, C.J.M., 1991, The Wesleyan Methodist Missions in Zimbabwe: 1891–1945, University of Zimbabwe Publications, Harare.
|
Email this article (Login required)
