I was born and raised in Zimbabwe and I never got to witness the struggle that brought my country independence. I grew up enchanted by stories of the liberation struggle and as a child, one of my many ambitions was to become a soldier…apart from being a superhero with super powers. Like everyone else born after independence, I was referred to as a “Born Free.” It is a title that hints a great degree of privilege: we were born in the right time period of the right country. This is a period where every Zimbabwean enjoys the benefits of the liberation struggle, freedom for all and emancipation from the institutions established by colonial rule. However like most Zimbabweans, I was disillusioned by the reality of the post-independent Zimbabwe. The colonial institutions remained in place and the majority of the nation is up to this day enslaved by poverty. Various civil societies, non-profits and government agencies have launched various development initiatives up to this day to attempt to bail us out of the failed national dream, but we sure have a long way to go. One area in the neo-colonial equation has however been ignored in all these efforts, and this is religion. Continue reading Zimbabwe: Dangers of an Exclusively Religious Nation →