Zionism (southern African religion)
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- For other meanings, see Zionism (disambiguation)
Zionism is a key movement within the African Initiated Churches and is particularly strong in southern Africa; research in 1996 suggested that 40% of all black South Africans belonged to a Zionist church.
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[edit] Origins
Zionist beliefs grew out of late-nineteenth and early-twentieth religious missions to southern Africa. In particular the churches owe their origins to the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church of John Alexander Dowie, based in Zion, Illinois in the United States.
A Zionist church was founded in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1895; however, the church quickly integrated into indigenous southern African life, and had an entirely African leadership within twenty years of its founding.
[edit] Succession disputes
Schisms and succession disputes during the twentieth century led to the foundation of thousands of different congregations, of which the largest is the Zion Christian Church, with around 3 million followers, led by Barnabas Lekganyane.
[edit] Characteristics of Zionist churches
Zionist churches are characterised by the following features:
- Syncretic mixing of Christian and traditional African religious beliefs
- Use of faith-healing and revelation through dreams
- Riverine baptism
- Wearing of garments, often mostly white
The church is unrelated to the Jewish political movement of Zionism.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Christianity in Africa South of the Sahara — Dr. Neil Lettinga
- Oosthuizen, G., 1996. "African Independent/Indigenous Churches in the Social Environment: An Empirical Analysis"; Africa Insight, 26 (4).
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