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Book chapter | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Legitimizing powers: the political role of the Roman Catholic Church, 1972-1991 |
Author: | Hinfelaar, Marja |
Book title: | One Zambia, many histories: towards a history of post-colonial Zambia |
Year: | 2008 |
Pages: | 129-143 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | Zambia |
Subjects: | Catholic Church bishops Church and State |
About persons: | Emmanuel Milingo (1930-) Elias Mutale |
Abstract: | Although most studies of religion in Zambia have concentrated on the Third Republic and Chiluba's high flying assertions of Zambia being a Christian nation, the history of the First and Second Republics would not be complete without a comprehensive description of religious beliefs and institutions. While it is true that Kaunda formulated his own version of 'Humanism', after the foundation of the one-party State in 1972, the churches were the only formal organizations with the capacity to mobilize large sections of the population. This essay concentrates on the Roman Catholic Church and looks particularly at the lives and careers of two archbishops, Elias Mutale and Emmanuel Milingo. Archbishop Mutale was first consecrated Bishop of Mansa Diocese in 1971 and then Archbishop of Kasama in 1973. Emmanuel Milingo became Archbishop of Lusaka in 1969. The essay hinges on their roles in two crucial events, the Abortion Act of 1971 and the attempt by the ruling United National Independence Party (UNIP) to introduce Scientific Socialism in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The author also discusses the way in which the authority of the Archbishops was enhanced by the traditional respect in which religious figures are held in African societies. The matter of the death of Mutale in a car crash and the removal of Milingo, attributed to his charisma and his healing powers, in both of which rumour implicated Kaunda, is also touched upon. Notes, ref. [ASC Leiden abstract] |