Religion
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Most Zimbabweans are Christians. According to the 2022 Population and Housing Census, 85.3% of the population is Christian.1 Most Christians are Protestant, with the main denominations being Apostolic (followed by 40.3% of the population) and Pentecostal (17.%). A smaller proportion identify as Roman Catholic (6.4%).1
The 2022 Census found that 8.3% of the population reports no religious affiliation.1 Meanwhile, 5.0% of Zimbabweans adhere uniquely to traditional African beliefs, and 1.5% identify with another faith including Islam, Judaism or Hinduism.1 Muslim leaders describe their community as larger than 1% and growing.2
Christianity in Zimbabwe
Christianity was introduced to the Zimbabwean people by British missionaries as early as the 14th century. Today, it has become a powerful cultural force. Christian values relating to the family and marriage have modified traditional practices, for example, encouraging smaller nuclear families and reducing the practice of .
There has been a recent increase in Evangelical worship towards the Apostolic and Pentecostal churches. Two very large and publicly visible groups are the Vapostori and Zion Christian Church. Vapostori is an amalgamation of traditional religion with Christianity. Its worshippers often gather outdoors in white robes. The Zion Christian Church also fuses African traditions with Christian values. Its followers often wear a metal star badge with a dark green cloth background on top of their everyday clothes.
Traditional Religion in Zimbabwe
Both Shona and Ndebele traditions recognise an ever-present creator that oversees all living beings. The Shona god is known as ‘Mwari’ whilst the Ndebele god is called ‘uMlimu’. There is a widespread belief that the spirits of ancestors (vadzimu in Shona or amadlozi in Ndebele) and deceased chiefs (mhondoro) continue to exist in the community influencing and affecting life. They are believed to care for their descendants and share their experience, though the living eye cannot see them. Communication with these ancestral spirits is usually achieved through mediums, ‘²Ô²â²¹²Ô²µ²¹â€™ (witch doctors) and powerful members of the community. People may seek guidance and search for solutions to problems related to health, harvest and drought in this way. It is also believed that one can communicate with Mwari or uMlimu through these ancestors/spirit elders. Many events in life are understood to occur because of the spirit world; some people may believe that spiteful spirits are the cause of bad luck, illness or death. They may even call upon these spirits for punishment or vengeance.