Religious and political intersections: the instrumentalisation of Christianity during Zimbabwe’s 2018 presidential elections

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article discusses the critical intersection of Christianity with Zimbabwean politics during the 2018 harmonised elections. Christianity and politics play an important role in organising or polarising society. Major problems arise when the church becomes more “political” than spiritual or becomes silent on political matters affecting society. Religion has been used for various purposes in Zimbabwean politics, such as holding on to power, contesting power, rebuking leaders and silencing opponents. In the current research, my interest lies in two specific aspects; how, firstly, the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) leader, Emmerson Mnangagwa, and, secondly, the opposition Movement for Democratic Change-Alliance (MDC-A’s) Nelson Chamisa evoked Christianity in their national electoral campaign through rallies and posts on social media, before the 2018 harmonised elections and during the disputation of the results. The article concludes that Chamisa and Mnangagwa instrumentalised Christianity differently as a political tool.