Abstract
Religious ideology, in its diverse forms and contradictory roles, was a salient feature of every stage of the Mozambican civil war from 1975-1992. First, the conflict had its roots, partly, in attempts by the state to suppress religion. Second, during the war different groups appropriated and adapted religion to explain, manage and survive the violent turmoil. Third and even more important, religious actors played a crucial role in the peace process and resolution of the conflict. This paper identifies and discusses the varied roles that religious ideology played in the civil war, and highlights the social conditions that made people give to their historical situation a religious interpretation. Based on an interdisciplinary approach, it concludes that religious ideology is a powerful political force that can only be challenged at great cost, and its implications for war and peace are, at best ambiguous, and at worst, catastrophic. Key words: Conflict, God, ideology, peace, politics, rebel, religion, revivalism, resurgence, war.
Highlights
Since the birth of species, humankind has taken great consolation and joy in religious practice (Hubbard, 1981), which according to Huntington (1997) is „the central defining element‟ of a civilization
This paper identifies and discusses the varied roles that religious ideology played in the civil war, and highlights the social conditions that made people give to their historical situation a religious interpretation
Attempts to curtail religious practices fuelled the conflict by giving legitimacy to the Mozambique National Resistance (MNR or Renamo) rebels‟ claims to be fighting for religious freedoms
Summary
Since the birth of species, humankind has taken great consolation and joy in religious practice (Hubbard, 1981), which according to Huntington (1997) is „the central defining element‟ of a civilization. Defying and re-defining this history, the ruling Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo) and following other socialist countries attempted to secularize society and abolish religion, „the opium of the people‟. In trying to abolish religion by decree and achieve rapid development, Machel, the first president of Mozambique, threw his country on the path of war, selfdestruction and underdevelopment. For many of the war weary people, religion was a strategy for surviving the violent turmoil, while for a few strategically positioned; it was an avenue for accumulating wealth and power. Giving pride of place to the weak and voiceless by making their life histories central to the analysis, the paper shows that religious ideology is both a powerful and versatile political force that can be adopted and adapted by different people for. The paper concludes that, the implications of increased religious revivalism for war and peace in Africa are, at best ambiguous, and at worst catastrophic
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