Patterning Constitutional Conflicts in the Church of Christ in Zimbabwe
Gift Masengwe 
and Bekithemba Dube
Issue: Vol.9 No.6 June 2023 Issue Article 2 pp. 206-220
DOI : https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.2023962 | Published online 9th June 2023.
© 2023 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
This paper set out to analyse the patterning of conflict in the Church of Christ in Zimbabwe (COCZ) with the introduction of the Constitution; which has been described as an unfair proposition, given that conflict is inevitable in a postmodern society. Conflicts in communities have largely been caused by resource scarcity, group affinities, and poor leadership. The study used data collected from participants who were purposively selected to answer electronic questions posted on a WhatsApp group platform for this study. They were randomly chosen from the national fellowship of the COCZ pastors. The study observed that conflict was caused by the shifting centres of power through the adoption of the Somabhula Conference Centre. These conflicts thus bolster a deeper appreciation of Christian identity and mission in contemporary ecclesiastical circles. The data analysed revealed that there are three frameworks: concept, content, and composition of constitutions. It also revealed that conflicts in Zimbabwean churches happened in the Anglican Diocese of Harare; the Apostolic Faith Mission of Zimbabwe; the Baptist Convention of Zimbabwe and the Marange Apostles’ succession battles. Positively, conflicts have been observed to remove complacency among the leadership and followership. It concluded that citing the 2015 Constitution, therefore, becomes an unfair proposition as conflicts occurred in the history of mission churches in Zimbabwe inclusive of the conflicts in the COCZ history. This study contributes in a small measure to discussions around international best practices for resolving church conflicts.
Keywords: Constitutions, Conflicts, Conflict Resolution Mechanisms, Church of Christ in Zimbabwe
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Prof. Bekithemba Dube (Ph. D.) is Associate Professor in Curriculum Studies at the UFS. He is a wide reader and publisher in high impact journals, books and book chapters. He sits on various journals’ editorial boards, and is an editor of Alternation Journal, Journal of Cultures and Values, Journal of Curriculum Studies Research, and Journal of Curriculum Studies Research. He received outstanding and excellence service awards in Community Engagement Research, UFS’ Vice Rector, 2019; most prolific Faculty of Education Researcher, 2019 and 2020 and recognition for Research Excellence Award, UFS, 2020. His research interests are in African studies, Decoloniality and Rural Education in Post-Colonial Africa.
Gift Masengwe (Ph.D.) is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Education, University of Free State. He is also a Research Fellow at the Institute of Theology and Religious Studies, University of South Africa. He serves as the presiding pastor for the Church of Christ in South Africa. His research interests are in Religion and Politics in Post-Colonial Africa.
Masengwe, G. & Dube, B. “Patterning Constitutional Conflicts in the Church of Christ in Zimbabwe,” E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies, 9 no.6 (2023): 206-220. https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.2023962
© 2023 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Publishers. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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