Religion and Politics - Ministry of Religious Affairs in Zambia
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………1
BACKGROUND …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...1
THE RE-INTRODUCTION OF THE MINISTRY OF RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS..……………………………………………3
JUSTIFICATION FOR THE CREATION OF THE MINISTRY………………………………………………………………..4
THE MANDATE AND TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR THE MINISTRY OF NATIONAL GUIDANCE AND RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….5
MINISTRY OF RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS AND EDUCATION…………………………………………………………………….6
MINISTRY OF RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS AND OTHER AREAS OF CONCERN ………………………………………….8
CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….9
BIBLIOGRAPHY ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………11
INTRODUCTION
In September 2016, President Edgar Lungu announced his intention to create a ministry which will be responsible for Religious affairs in the Country. This kind of ministry was first introduced by Fredrick Chiluba in 1991 but was later abolished and abandoned by the three successive presidents. The objective of this paper is to investigate how the Ministry of Religious Affairs and National Guidance came about after more than 10 years of its absence.
The first part gives the background of what initially led to the creation of the Ministry of Religious Affairs in 1991. This is important because it is from this background that the resurgence of the Ministry is owed. The second part is a narration of the renaissance of the Ministry, chronicling the events that led to the pronouncement of the new Ministry and the reasons behind it. This is followed by the sentiments which justify the re-creation of the Ministry and accompanying terms of reference, mandate and guidelines. Given that the ministry was born of concerns bordering on moral decadence and lack of spiritual guidance, I propose, out of the many possible solutions, two ways in which the Ministry of National Guidance and Religious Affairs can attain and achieve its intended objectives. Firstly, I propose that it should work with the Ministry of General Education in that government schools and higher learning institutions should learn from Christian run schools on how to inculcate good Christian morals in the learners. Secondly, I propose an expanded mandate for the Ministry of Religious Affairs in that it ought to act as a piece builder as well as a ministry which caters for non-Christian religions in its approach.
BACKGROUND
In 1991, President Frederick J. T. Chiluba declared Zambia as a Christian nation. This declaration was preceded by the Kaunda era in which the majority of citizens, especially Christians, were feeling ignored and even victimized, which led to increased agitation and frustration. Added to that, Kaunda's perceived unorthodox theological position, where he openly associated with Eastern Religious beliefs, further antagonized the relationship with many Christians. The growing perception in Zambia was that “Kaunda had not just forsaken true Christianity, but had fallen under the sway of Eastern gurus” (Phiri, 2016). In the 1980s he became linked with a Dr. M. A. Ranganathan and established his David Universal Temple at State House. This association with "Eastern Religions did not go well with most Zambians and “was not acceptable to Zambian Christians" (Phiri, 2016). The tensions caused by the perceived drift of Kaunda from Christian orthodoxy were exacerbated when Kaunda alleged that "churches were preaching hatred" in response to negative articles about his regime in a Christian publication. (National Mirror, 2013). Kaunda’s joining of the Marharishi Mahesh Yogi, an Eastern meditation exercise televised on national TV further antagonized the relationship between the Christian church and his government. Gifford notes that the response by senior pastors was to call the project "demonic" and they "deplored the fact that the government 'had banned the registration of more churches but permitted occult systems to enter Zambia” (Gifford, 1996). In the 1991 presidential and general elections, Kaunda and his UNIP government lost to the President Fredrick Chiluba’s MMD who seemed more sympathetic to Christianity and who in the election campaigns promised to govern the country on Christian principles.