The early Brethren in Christ Church missions and the formation of new identities among the Ndebele in Zimbabwe

This paper examines the impact of the Brethren in Christ Church Christian missions on the spirituality and identity of the Ndebele during the colonial period. Firstly, the paper discusses African religious consciousness prior to the arrival of the Christian missions and then outlines some of the str...

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Main Author: Ndlovu, Lovemore
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Missionalia 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11408/4316
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author Ndlovu, Lovemore
author_facet Ndlovu, Lovemore
author_sort Ndlovu, Lovemore
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description This paper examines the impact of the Brethren in Christ Church Christian missions on the spirituality and identity of the Ndebele during the colonial period. Firstly, the paper discusses African religious consciousness prior to the arrival of the Christian missions and then outlines some of the strategies that were employed by the Christian missions, which were geared to transform the image and identity of Africans. Secondly, the paper discusses the aims of the Christian missions in changing the ideology and perceptions of Africans. Consequently, the paper reports on an empirical study conducted in order to determine whether the activities of the Brethren in Christ Church Christian missions led to the formation of new identities. The data obtained from the empirical study demonstrates that the Brethren in Christ Church missionary activities in Zimbabwe greatly transformed the consciousness of the Ndebele - the indigenous modes of perception and practice - resulting in the creation of an early twentieth-century Christian identity.
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spelling ir-11408-43162022-06-27T13:49:07Z The early Brethren in Christ Church missions and the formation of new identities among the Ndebele in Zimbabwe Ndlovu, Lovemore Spirituality Identity Ndebele Christianity This paper examines the impact of the Brethren in Christ Church Christian missions on the spirituality and identity of the Ndebele during the colonial period. Firstly, the paper discusses African religious consciousness prior to the arrival of the Christian missions and then outlines some of the strategies that were employed by the Christian missions, which were geared to transform the image and identity of Africans. Secondly, the paper discusses the aims of the Christian missions in changing the ideology and perceptions of Africans. Consequently, the paper reports on an empirical study conducted in order to determine whether the activities of the Brethren in Christ Church Christian missions led to the formation of new identities. The data obtained from the empirical study demonstrates that the Brethren in Christ Church missionary activities in Zimbabwe greatly transformed the consciousness of the Ndebele - the indigenous modes of perception and practice - resulting in the creation of an early twentieth-century Christian identity. 2021-06-01T13:54:33Z 2021-06-01T13:54:33Z 2011 Article 0256-9507 http://hdl.handle.net/11408/4316 en Missionalia: Journal of the Southern African Missiological Society;Vol. 39; No. 3: p. 193-209 open Missionalia
spellingShingle Spirituality
Identity
Ndebele
Christianity
Ndlovu, Lovemore
The early Brethren in Christ Church missions and the formation of new identities among the Ndebele in Zimbabwe
title The early Brethren in Christ Church missions and the formation of new identities among the Ndebele in Zimbabwe
title_full The early Brethren in Christ Church missions and the formation of new identities among the Ndebele in Zimbabwe
title_fullStr The early Brethren in Christ Church missions and the formation of new identities among the Ndebele in Zimbabwe
title_full_unstemmed The early Brethren in Christ Church missions and the formation of new identities among the Ndebele in Zimbabwe
title_short The early Brethren in Christ Church missions and the formation of new identities among the Ndebele in Zimbabwe
title_sort early brethren in christ church missions and the formation of new identities among the ndebele in zimbabwe
topic Spirituality
Identity
Ndebele
Christianity
url http://hdl.handle.net/11408/4316
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