This book tells the truth about what happened and is still happening in Zimbabwe, concerning local religions and Christianity. This book will lead you to seek and search the truth from the Bible so that people will determine their relationship with God. Are you following God the right way or wrong way? This book will help. (A portion of proceeds from the sale of this book is going to help funding some disadvantaged children of Zimbabwe to build their better lives through education)

This book tells the truth about what happened and is still happening in Zimbabwe, concerning local religions and Christianity. This book will lead you to seek and search the truth from the Bible so that people will determine their relationship with God. Are you following God the right way or wrong way? This book will help. (A portion of proceeds from the sale of this book is going to help funding some disadvantaged children of Zimbabwe to build their better lives thorugh education.)

Right from the beginning of humankind, God has never deprived a people of his grace and revelation. In fact, God uses people’s environment and culture to communicate his will. There is no single religion that can claim to have the exclusive possession of God’s revelation, for God is too immense to be confined within one faith. Hence, it was erroneous, blasphemous, and misleading for some of the early Christian missionaries to Africa to claim that they had brought God to Africa, a mentality that implied the non-existence of God in Africa before their arrival. Of course, God was already in Africa, but the missionaries either failed to discern his presence or just disregarded the traces of his existence. This book explores the religious beliefs, practices, and values of the indigenous people of Africa at the time of the early missionaries’ arrival, with particular reference to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. It also evaluates the extent of the missionarie’s successes and challenges in converting Africans to Christianity. It finally surveys how African Christians have remained attached to the indigenous religious beliefs that used to provide answers to their existential questions.

Tabona Shoko contends that religion and healing are intricately intertwined in African religions. This book on the religion of the Karanga people of Zimbabwe sheds light on important methodological issues relevant to research in the study of African religions. Analysing the traditional Karanga views of the causes of illness and disease, mechanisms of diagnosis at their disposal and the methods they use to restore health, Shoko discusses the views of a specific African Independent Church of the Apostolic tradition. The conclusion Shoko reaches about the central religious concerns of the Karanga people is derived from detailed field research consisting of interviews and participant observation. This book testifies that the centrality of health and well-being is not only confined to traditional religion but reflects its adaptive potential in new religious systems manifest in the phenomenon of Independent Churches. Rather than succumbing to the folly of static generalizations, Tabona Shoko offers important insights into a particular society upon which theories can be reassessed, adding new dimensions to modern features of the religious scene in Africa.

The chapters in this volume foreground the ambivalent role of religion and culture when it comes to African women’s health and well-being. Reflecting on the three major religions in Africa, i.e. African Indigenous Religions, Christianity, and Islam, the authors illustrate how religious beliefs and practices can either enhance or hinder women’s holistic progress and development. With a specific focus on Zimbabwean women’s experiences of religion and culture, the volume discusses how African Indigenous Religions, Christianity, and Islam tend to privilege men and understate the value of women in Africa. Adopting diverse theological, ideological, and political positions, contributors to this volume restate the fact that the key teachings of different religions, often suppressed due to patriarchal influences, are a potent resource in the quest for gender justice. In sync with the goals for gender justice and women empowerment envisioned in the United Nations’ Agenda 2030 and Africa Agenda 2063, the contributors advocate for gender-inclusive and life-enhancing interpretations of religious and cultural traditions in Africa.

"Western neglecting traditional religion is an important factor for the failure of many developmental strategies towards Africa. Therefore, religion(s) of the indigenous peoples must be given the neccesary attention. The book presents the example of the Shona religion playing a critical role in the life of the Zimbabweans. If incorporated, it will contribute to the better success of development initiatives." --back cover