[3] 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.
[6] Following Livingstone's death in 1873, at Ilala by the shores of Lake Bangweulu in North Eastern Zambia, and the subsequent development of preventatives and cures for malaria based on quinine, mission societies stepped in to take up where he had left off by establishing Christianity in Central Africa.
Kamungu perhaps reflects an aspect of Christianity that set it apart from many of the other structures of colonialism that severely limited if not actively restricted the ability of the local population to take a part in their development, becoming isolated and voiceless from the ruling European elite.
[12] Traditional Anglican involvement in Zambia was undertaken by the Universities' Mission to Central Africa (UMCA), which had been founded in Cambridge as a direct result of the fiftieth anniversary of Livingstone's call for African evangelism.
[16] Possibly some of this affection is also because Livingstone is perceived as a defender of the traditional societies as he defied the slave traders who were already destroying communities; one of his multiple motives for being in the region was anti-slavery and towards the end of his life a primary drive in his work.
[18] Again Livingstone's legacy lives on in many development initiatives undertaken on the continent both in religious and secular capacities, a seemingly positive intervention, which carries wider motives and implications.
Examples include the parable of the Good Samaritan Luke 10:25-37, then Jesus' encouragement in Matthew 25:36 "I was sick and you looked after me, " and the Old Testament reprimand to the leaders of Israel, "you have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured," Ezk 34:4, Secondly, it was driven by a perception that the only alternative medical care available to the local population involved traditional healers and their use of, in colonial eyes, unscientific and crude methods as well as possible appeals to animistic or ancestral powers.
"[26] By 1922 the General Missionary Conference passed a resolution calling for the "establishment of one or more government colleges or institutions to provide instruction in agriculture, forestry, pedagogy and the duties of chiefs.
"[30] Despite their decline the mission schools had become the place where the aspiration for independence was established and nurtured, as well as promoting colonial structure they had also encouraged critical thinking enabling students to contest the status quo.
"[34] Churches were to involve themselves in diverse campaigns such as poll tax reform, the effects on families due to labour migration and issues of racial inequality.
[36] It was AICs that would be the initial breeding grounds for nationalist sentiments, and it was this fervour that crept over the denominational lines through informal contacts and into the more politically powerful mainline churches.
"The Christian Church… formed a crucial part of the associational landscape in many Sub-Saharan countries, consisting not only of a forum for spiritual communication but also a sanctuary for secular resistance.
The rapid rise of the Lumpa church and its reluctance to involve itself with anti-colonial struggle led to violent conflicts with the UNIP youth in Chinsali District and then later also with colonial authorities.
"[32] Phiri indicates that the relative freedoms of political association and the improved public spending initiatives of the early years of UNIP rule[48] caused the Church to return to a more traditional pastoral role.
By 1976 Kaunda was forced to declare a state of emergency and the dramatic dip in revenue caused the UNIP government to borrow heavily, significantly increasing Zambia's external debt.
The worsening economic situation and increasing debt led the IMF to intervene in the 1980s to shore up the economy and impose Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) on Zambia.
"[55] The success of the combined pressure prompted the three bodies to continue to work closely in terms of public policy, which Gifford goes on to note "makes Zambian Christianity… virtually unique on the continent" in that "the co-operation includes Pentecostals.
[60] The harshness of the SAPs was to cause serious food riots in Zambia during the last years of the UNIP government when subsidies on staples, such as maize meal, were removed.
In mid 1990, "The Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD), an unofficial alliance of political opponents of the Government, was formed"[63] under the leadership of the recently ousted Finance Minister Arthur Wina and the leader of the Zambian trade unions, Frederick Chiluba, to fight the democratic corner in the referendum.
"[66] Jimmy Carter who led the international team of observers notes that at a time of "political impasse", between Chiluba and Kaunda the Anglican Cathedral in Lusaka provided the "acceptable meeting place for both parties.
[68] Christians wary of Kaunda's somewhat unorthodox theological positions in the past were further antagonised when the President began openly flirting with Eastern Religious beliefs.
The growing perception in Zambia was "that Kaunda had not just forsaken true Christianity, but had fallen under the sway of Eastern gurus… in the 1980s he became linked with a Dr M. A. Ranganathan and established his David Universal Temple at State House.
[44] Gifford notes that the response by senior pastors from Ndola, the principal town of the Copperbelt, was to call the project "demonic" and they "deplored the fact that the government 'had banned the registration of more churches but permitted occult systems to enter Zambia'".
Phiri speculates that Chiluba's declaration was a personal commitment to God as president that he would lead Zambia guided by his principles based on his Christian faith.
Gifford suggests, "Chiluba may have contacted officials of the EFZ, who no doubt were reluctant to bring in the other bodies because they saw this as their hour, having in the past felt themselves slightly overshadowed by the ECZ and CCZ.
On one hand Chiluba was calling on God for divine blessing on Zambia at the declaration he quoted 2 Chron 7:14 saying "If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn form their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sin and will heal their land",[77] and as Phiri speculates, "one of the reasons why Zambia was declared a Christian nation was Chiluba's belief that a nation whose leader fears God prospers economically.
[92] With this seemingly sound scriptural backing Chiluba was able to ask of his Christian supporters to endure hardships beyond those that brought the UNIP government of Kaunda to its knees.
Haynes comments that the programme "was so stringent that the local World Bank representative counselled caution and urged that greater concern be given to the issue of social instability, which he judged to be a direct result of too fervent an application of adjustment policies".
[94] The policy left many unemployed, raise the price of basic foods with the removal of subsidies (an action that had caused major riots under Kaunda) and increased the cost of education and healthcare.
"[111] Following Mwanamasa's election he called on Nevers Mumba to become vice president and in doing so conferred Pentecostal legitimacy on his government without the baggage that surrounded Chiluba.