Christianity in Zambia

Christianity has been very much at the heart of religion in Zambia since the European colonial explorations into the interior of Africa in the mid 19th century. The area features heavily in the accounts of David Livingstone's journeys in Central Africa.

Livingstone's exploration of the region coincided with an increased interest in missions in the Evangelical churches in Britain, and, despite his complicated motives, Livingstone became the darling of Evangelical expansion. This interest was largely influenced by,

"the result of revivalism among Pietists and Methodists and among the Evangelicals of the Anglican church. People wanted to convert others to the same joyous religious experience they had had".

The rise in missionary zeal was heightened with the expansion of European empires, opening up unknown territories and bringing other cultures to the attention of the newly formed mission societies. Yet another element of this increased mission activity was the desire not to see a repeat of the recent Indian Mutiny, that the Evangelicals, like Livingstone, felt was, "as a result of too little mission activity". It is possible the cause of the mutiny was actually of a religious origin with many of the Indians serving in the British Indian Army convinced, "that the British did indeed have plans to Christianize India", and thereby threatening their faith that was in their view indivisible from their vocation as a soldier, whether as a Hindu, Muslim or Sikh.

Livingstone inspired many Evangelicals in his speech at the Senate House in Cambridge University in 1857 in which he stated,

"I consider we made a great mistake when we carried commerce into India, in being ashamed of our Christianity… those two pioneers of civilisation – Christianity and commerce – should ever be inseparable".

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Wikipedia