The study of the African Initiated Churches has become vital for the understanding of the rich variety of forms in which Christianity manifest itself on this continent. In 1950 nearly 80% of black South African Christians adhered to the established churches and only 12% to the African Initiated Churches. Presently it is about 52% and below 40% respectively. At the end of the century the African Initiated Churches will be the main Church Movement in South Africa as the so called mainline churches are fast becoming sidelined (Oosthuizen December 1992: i). The founder (Engenas Lekganyane 1885-1948) of the Zion Christian Church was an African, with roots in Africa. His church thus assimilated Christianity into the culture as espoused in this part of the continent. The church thus expresses Christianity in an African context. The leadership of the church has continued to be African, thereby entrenching the Africanness of the church. The membership of the Zion Christian Church is overwhelmingly African. The African features of the Zion Christian Church are therefore, not expressed through the structures that closely mirror traditional society, but rather through a polity that continues the hierarchical system inherited both from the traditional society and from the mother church namely the Apostolic Faith Mission, and modifies it by the addition of elements from the Methodist forms of government. It could be regarded as a mixed Western polity operating in a characteristically African way. since it is the Christian faith that the church wishes to communicate in African terms, the starting point is the source of the church's faith, I refer here to the Holy Scriptures, the foundation document of the church. African Christians are concerned to interpret essential Christian faith in authentic African language in the flux and turmoil of our time so that there may be genuine dialogue between Christian faith and African culture. It should be noted that by looking at the Gospel message from an African perspective, African Christians are not simply thinking about themselves but are attempting to make their contribution, to the universal Christian theology. / Theses (D.Th.)-University of Durban-Westville, April 1996.

Thesis (M.A. (Political & International Studies)) - Rhodes University, 2009. / A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Politics at Department of Political and International Studies.

No abstract available. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Durban-Westville, December 1999.

The upsurge of religious movements and independent churches in the Global South is bringing a new twist to world economic development not anticipated by many theologians and social scientists. With a syncretic soteriology geared toward the liberation of the whole person, religious movements and independent churches of the south are preaching to their adherents, mostly the poor and the marginalized, a message of faith in an omnipotent and compassionate God who is concerned for their weal and woes and who offers them an assured and holistic salvation. By placing their faith in God, the poor and marginalized people are discovering their true selves and are saved/liberated. This assured salvation (certitudo salutis), which is a total liberation of the physical and spiritual world, becomes, in turn, the motivational energy for capital development. The Zion Christian Church (ZCC) soteriological predicament stands at this juncture. Through processes of syncretization and purification, ZCC has managed to deconstruct the European/North American and African Traditional Religions soteriologies to construct a pure soteriology that is relevant to the socio context of its adherents. ZCC deconstructs these soteriologies by broadening, for example, the classic Christian soteriogical theory of Christus Victor in her notion of sin, death and the devil and the African traditional soteriological notion of uBuntu and spirit-power. The purity, or holistic salvation, generated out of these processes serves as grounds for identity and economic empowerment of its adherents. With a holistic salvation that centers on healing, personal integrity and spiritual power, ZCC members have been able to achieve considerable success in the labour market by becoming an army of potential employees. They have also distinguished themselves in their work ethic, where they are seen as hardworking, disciplined, obedient and sober. Empowering its adherents economically through a religious soteriology, the ZCC has become an example of a trend that is shaping the Global South and is reviving the interest of social scientists and theologians to further investigate the impact of religious and theological formulations on the economic conduct of individuals. / Theology / D. Th. (Theological Ethics)

The upsurge of religious movements and independent churches in the Global South is bringing a new twist to world economic development not anticipated by many theologians and social scientists. With a syncretic soteriology geared toward the liberation of the whole person, religious movements and independent churches of the south are preaching to their adherents, mostly the poor and the marginalized, a message of faith in an omnipotent and compassionate God who is concerned for their weal and woes and who offers them an assured and holistic salvation. By placing their faith in God, the poor and marginalized people are discovering their true selves and are saved/liberated. This assured salvation (certitudo salutis), which is a total liberation of the physical and spiritual world, becomes, in turn, the motivational energy for capital development. The Zion Christian Church (ZCC) soteriological predicament stands at this juncture. Through processes of syncretization and purification, ZCC has managed to deconstruct the European/North American and African Traditional Religions soteriologies to construct a pure soteriology that is relevant to the socio context of its adherents. ZCC deconstructs these soteriologies by broadening, for example, the classic Christian soteriogical theory of Christus Victor in her notion of sin, death and the devil and the African traditional soteriological notion of uBuntu and spirit-power. The purity, or holistic salvation, generated out of these processes serves as grounds for identity and economic empowerment of its adherents. With a holistic salvation that centers on healing, personal integrity and spiritual power, ZCC members have been able to achieve considerable success in the labour market by becoming an army of potential employees. They have also distinguished themselves in their work ethic, where they are seen as hardworking, disciplined, obedient and sober. Empowering its adherents economically through a religious soteriology, the ZCC has become an example of a trend that is shaping the Global South and is reviving the interest of social scientists and theologians to further investigate the impact of religious and theological formulations on the economic conduct of individuals. / Theology / D. Th. (Theological Ethics)

Regional community in southern Africa has been limited to the region’s states. As a result, deeper notions of community emanating from non-state actors, particularly transnational social movements, continue to be ignored. In an attempt to transcend state centrism, this thesis highlights alternative forms of regional community by exploring the Zion Christian Church (ZCC), one of southern Africa’s biggest and fastest growing cross-border movements. The ZCC is a potential agent for developing regional community from the bottom-up, driving a people-oriented regional integration approach in southern Africa. The ZCC, with its extensive following among the region’s poor, offers a compelling example of a grassroots and truly bottom-up approach to regional community. This thesis explores the possibility of the ZCC as a model of alternative community and identity centred on people’s daily experiences and grounded in a shared history and solidarity. It seeks to highlight the significance of transnational movements like the ZCC to policy makers in the region and it argues that grassroots communities are marching ahead of SADC member states and politicians in the area of integration. There exists a transnational cooperation amongst followers of the ZCC and other grassroots communities across the region and this cooperation transcends the traditional notion of state sovereignty, thereby highlighting deeper notions of what it means to be a community at regional level.

This study encompasses an anthropological investigation of healing practices in the Zion Christian Church with reference to the Marabastad congregation in Pretoria (Tshwane), South Africa. The Zion Christian Church functions as an extremely successful healing ministry, and can thus be characterised as a spirit-type African Initiated Church, a type known to attract members through healing activities. The concepts of ill-health, health, healing and curing are crucial to understanding the church’s role, as all activities at the Zion Christian Church revolve around the attainment of absolute health. The embedded nature of healing in the church is explored through an analysis of the spatial and material aspects of the church’s healing practices, including codes of conduct, roles of participants, religious services, and intangible and tangible instruments of healing. The study is further contextualised against the broader history of the emergence and growth of African Initiated Churches from the late 19th century onwards / Anthropology & Archaeology / M.A. (Anthropology)

This study encompasses an anthropological investigation of healing practices in the Zion Christian Church with reference to the Marabastad congregation in Pretoria (Tshwane), South Africa. The Zion Christian Church functions as an extremely successful healing ministry, and can thus be characterised as a spirit-type African Initiated Church, a type known to attract members through healing activities. The concepts of ill-health, health, healing and curing are crucial to understanding the church’s role, as all activities at the Zion Christian Church revolve around the attainment of absolute health. The embedded nature of healing in the church is explored through an analysis of the spatial and material aspects of the church’s healing practices, including codes of conduct, roles of participants, religious services, and intangible and tangible instruments of healing. The study is further contextualised against the broader history of the emergence and growth of African Initiated Churches from the late 19th century onwards / Anthropology and Archaeology / M. A. (Anthropology)