“From Fools for Christ to Fools for Politicians”: A Critique of Zambian Pentecostal Theopolitical Imagination

Kaunda, Chammah J.

doi:10.1177/2396939317730694

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…In addition, there is no record of Wutaunashe condemning political violence and the military killing people in Harare in the aftermath of the contested 2018 elections; instead, he rushed to force the legitimacy issue and ignored the lives lost because of the contestation of the elections. Therefore, I agree with Kaunda (2017) that most prophets move from being fools for Christ to fools of politicians. Thus, Magaisa (2019) argued his (Wutaunashe) presence goes some way to legitimating the regime, thus giving the impression that it is so good that respectable professional works with the ruling party.…”

Section: Wutaunashe As Regime Enabler: a Mandate Capturedmentioning

confidence: 54%

“…To this end, Kaunda (2017) argued that some Pentecostals lack an adequate political theology of social justice that would challenge the status quo of the wealthy and powerful and redirect the government towards promoting the common good. My position related to Wutaunashe is that a religious mandate has been captured and sacrificed on the altar of political gains.…”

Section: Wutaunashe As Regime Enabler: a Mandate Capturedmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Pentecostal elites use the politics of befriending those in power as the means to access privileges, social status and national resources. In doing so, they have succumbed to a politics of status that effectively silences the prophetic voice (Kaunda 2017). A captured prophetic voice deprives the religious community of ideal service and leadership that is essential for making religious bodies relevant and ensuring that they contribute to sustainable development, good governance and social cohesion.…”

Section: Mutendi As Regime Enabler: a Mandate Become A Political Constituencymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Regime enablers and captured religious mandate in Zimbabwe

Dube

2020

Verbum Eccles.

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Zimbabwe’s second republic, born after the fall of Robert Mugabe on 17 November 2017, has been characterised by many controversies. Some of the most important of these include claims that human rights, accountability and democracy are being disregarded, and religious leaders are acting as regime enablers to maintain injustice. This article problematises the role of Nehemiah Mutendi and Andrew Wutawunashe, the harbingers of the second republic. I look closely at Mutendi’s and Wutawunashe’s roles in the second republic, in the light of human rights and show how their involvement in the political matrix has the potential to disrupt social cohesion, stoke hate and misrepresent the religious mandate by assuming the role of regime enablers. I argue that, although religious leaders have a constitutional right to be involved in politics, their primary mandate is to promote morality and human rights, fight for the poor and marginalised and not to surrender these rights for the sake of obtaining benefits.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The article draws from the nexus theology, religious studies, politics, economy and sociology. The article attempts to show how religious leaders in their involvement in politics affect social arrangements, economy and peace. Therefore, it is interdisciplinary in the sense that it discusses religious issues informed by politics, economy and peace narratives.

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Section: Wutaunashe As Regime Enabler: a Mandate Capturedmentioning

confidence: 54%

Section: Wutaunashe As Regime Enabler: a Mandate Capturedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Mutendi As Regime Enabler: a Mandate Become A Political Constituencymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Regime enablers and captured religious mandate in Zimbabwe

Dube

2020

Verbum Eccles.

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“…The article is based on a wider project that sought to capture Zambian Pentecostal culture and identity that embodies its understanding of God's mission in the context of national politics (Kaunda 2017a). The data was gathered from 350 Pentecostal ministers, leaders, and ordinary people through a qualitative multidirectional approach that included face-to-face interviews, group discussions, surveys, emails, and blogs in Lusaka and Ndola from March 2016 to October 2017 (see Kaunda 2017a). 2 The findings show that there are contestations within Pentecostal interpretations and engagements with nationality.…”

Section: Theory and Method: The Challenge Of Ontocracymentioning

confidence: 99%

‘The Altars Are Holding the Nation in Captivity’: Zambian Pentecostalism, Nationality, and African Religio-Political Heritage

Kaunda

2018

Religions

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The study draws on ontocracy political theory to investigate Zambian Pentecostal interpretations of politics as a sacred realm of contestations between forces of good and evil. It argues that Zambian Pentecostal theology of nationality is a continuation of traditional African religio-cultural ethnonational heritage. It demonstrates how Zambian Pentecostal theology of nationality is based on socio-historically constructed conceptions that drew their foundation from traditional myths, symbols and cultures. It concludes that Zambian Pentecostalism has failed to make distinctions among various types of human authorities, thereby promoting a theology of nationality that mystifies the source of the political authority of the presidents of the nation, who are perceived as absorbing both secular and spiritual responsibilities.

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“…Christianity function as the dominant religion in many nations of Sub-Saharan Africa. In Zambia the government changed the constitution to declare Zambia to be 'a Christian nation' (Kaunda 2017). In this era of African political discourse, many states are encountering economic instability that is having negative impacts on social cohesion.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%