Zambia

The Republic of Zambia in southern Africa is surrounded by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola. One of the earliest Europeans to enter the country was the Protestant missionary and African explorer David Livingstone. His extensive explorations in the mid-19th century brought Zambia to the attention of the Western world and inspired countless other missionaries.

Roman Catholic, Methodist, Anglican, and Baptist missions in neighboring countries such as South Africa, Tanzania, and Malawi expanded into Zambia in the late 1800s. They worked not only to convert the native population to Christianity but also to enculturate them to Western morals and values. The influence of the mission churches is still felt in modern-day Zambia: English is the official language, and Christianity is the official religion. In addition to the traditional mission churches, African-initiated churches (AICs), those that originated independently, are also an important part of the religions landscape. These churches emerged in the colonial era as indigenous interpretations of Christianity within the Zambian sociopolitical context and served as havens from European domination, in some cases supporting nationalist organizations in the struggle for independence.

Zambia gained independence from Britain in 1964, and since the 1970s, many Pentecostal and Charismatic churches in the United States have sent missionaries to the country; these missionaries found audiences responsive to the preaching of the prosperity gospel, which promotes the idea that God wants to bless his followers with material wealth. As the hardships associated with structural adjustment took hold of the country in the 1980s and 1990s, the popularity of spiritual remedies for the suffering of the masses increased. In 1991, a Pentecostal, Fredrick J. T. Chiluba, was elected president, and the influx of Pentecostal and Charismatic missionaries and the founding of churches in the country surged to even greater levels.

A 1996 amendment to the Zambian constitution made Christianity the official religion of the country. However, other religions are freely practiced in Zambia. The country's current religious makeup is estimated to be anywhere from 50% to 87% Christian, with Roman Catholics being the largest group. According to various estimates, 1%–5% of the population is Hindu, mainly residents of South Asian and Middle Eastern descent. The Baha'i community in Zambia is the 10th largest in the world and constitutes 1%–2% of the population. Zambia has the largest number of Jehovah's Witnesses in Africa, with a quarter million members (1% of the population). Adherents to indigenous beliefs are estimated at 1% of the population, while 5% are estimated to be atheist or to have no religious beliefs. Islam has a long history in Zambia, starting with Arab slave traders in the mid-18th century. Other Muslims came to Zambia from India during the colonial period and settled along the railway from Lusaka to [Page 1400]Livingstone. Today, Muslims are estimated to make up 1%–5% of the population.