DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.70004#0053
51
originated from the settling of a large religious group in a mainly uninhabited
area. Studies of the spatial distribution of religious groups in the USA, their
causes and effects as well as their changes3 are summarised by SoPHER (1981,
513) in a branch of the geography of religion known as “denominational geog-
raphy”. There are similar surveys on India where religious differentiation had,
and still has, strong political significance (e.g., BRUSH 1949, GOSAL & MUK-
ERJI 1970 and DUTT & DAVGON 1979). The study of the religious geography
of England by Gay (1971) is an investigation of the regional distribution of
denominations with a strong historical accent. The same can be said of the
“Church geography” of Sweden by GUSTAFSSON (1957) and the study of Scot-
land by PIGGOTT (1980). Neither succeeded in establishing denominational
regions as ZELINSKY had done for the USA, although strong regional contrasts
were observed.
For most African countries none of the explanations mentioned above, for the
spatial spread of churches and denominations, can apply. There are examples
of ethnic groups belonging to a single religion, giving a dominance of that re-
ligion in their settlement area (e.g., the Islamic Somalis in Somalia, Ethiopia
and Northern Kenya or the Islamic Yao who immigrated into southern Malawi
in the 19th century). Yet the most important factors in explaining the pattern
of the churches in Zambia are the decisions and agreements of the mission-
ary societies at the beginning of the colonial period, described in detail in
Chapter IV. Here we will deal with the spatial distribution of the most im-
portant churches in Zambia, whose national importance is given in Table 4.
The data were mainly collected from the central administrative offices of the
churches, or from the government’s “Registrar of Societies”. The data is of
variable reliability and their comparability limited as some churches regularly
undertake statistical surveys whereas others attach little importance to them.
The churches are arranged in four groups: The Catholic Church; the more
ecumenically-orientated Protestant churches, most of whom have joined the
“Christian Council of Zambia”; the more evangelically-orientated Protestant
churches which are united in the “Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia”; and fi-
nally churches which do not fit into any of these categories. The Jehovah’s
Witnesses and the New Apostolic Church are the largest in this last group.
There is little dependable information about the large number of indepen-
dent churches which mostly are schisms from mission churches. Only those
denominations likely to have had more than 10,000 adherents (in 1982/83)
according to available information, are considered. There are also a further 90
small groups and denominations with a total of 140,000 adherents according
to Barrett’s survey. Of these 60 are either independent churches or splits
from large churches and 20 are small Western-evangelical and often charismatic
groups.
originated from the settling of a large religious group in a mainly uninhabited
area. Studies of the spatial distribution of religious groups in the USA, their
causes and effects as well as their changes3 are summarised by SoPHER (1981,
513) in a branch of the geography of religion known as “denominational geog-
raphy”. There are similar surveys on India where religious differentiation had,
and still has, strong political significance (e.g., BRUSH 1949, GOSAL & MUK-
ERJI 1970 and DUTT & DAVGON 1979). The study of the religious geography
of England by Gay (1971) is an investigation of the regional distribution of
denominations with a strong historical accent. The same can be said of the
“Church geography” of Sweden by GUSTAFSSON (1957) and the study of Scot-
land by PIGGOTT (1980). Neither succeeded in establishing denominational
regions as ZELINSKY had done for the USA, although strong regional contrasts
were observed.
For most African countries none of the explanations mentioned above, for the
spatial spread of churches and denominations, can apply. There are examples
of ethnic groups belonging to a single religion, giving a dominance of that re-
ligion in their settlement area (e.g., the Islamic Somalis in Somalia, Ethiopia
and Northern Kenya or the Islamic Yao who immigrated into southern Malawi
in the 19th century). Yet the most important factors in explaining the pattern
of the churches in Zambia are the decisions and agreements of the mission-
ary societies at the beginning of the colonial period, described in detail in
Chapter IV. Here we will deal with the spatial distribution of the most im-
portant churches in Zambia, whose national importance is given in Table 4.
The data were mainly collected from the central administrative offices of the
churches, or from the government’s “Registrar of Societies”. The data is of
variable reliability and their comparability limited as some churches regularly
undertake statistical surveys whereas others attach little importance to them.
The churches are arranged in four groups: The Catholic Church; the more
ecumenically-orientated Protestant churches, most of whom have joined the
“Christian Council of Zambia”; the more evangelically-orientated Protestant
churches which are united in the “Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia”; and fi-
nally churches which do not fit into any of these categories. The Jehovah’s
Witnesses and the New Apostolic Church are the largest in this last group.
There is little dependable information about the large number of indepen-
dent churches which mostly are schisms from mission churches. Only those
denominations likely to have had more than 10,000 adherents (in 1982/83)
according to available information, are considered. There are also a further 90
small groups and denominations with a total of 140,000 adherents according
to Barrett’s survey. Of these 60 are either independent churches or splits
from large churches and 20 are small Western-evangelical and often charismatic
groups.