Project title
Indigenous religion and climate change mitigation in Zimbabwe
Project description
Climate change is becoming one of the biggest challenges for humanity. While scientists and humanities scholars have studied this issue, there has been little focus on African religions and their role in climate change, particularly among the 9 million Shona people in Zimbabwe. In the context of SDG 13, the Sustainable Development Goal to mitigate and adapt to climate change, this gap requires urgent attention.
Inspired by Tarusarira (2017), Tabona Shoko looks into how the beliefs and practices of the indigenous Shona religion address climate change. Based on fieldwork and qualitative interviews in Zimbabwe from 1980 to 2023, the project researches whether indigenous religion can effectively tackle climate change and its impacts. Are spiritual beliefs and conservation methods crucial in mitigating the problem? And can indigenous religion help find a promising solution for climate change mitigation?
Selected publications
- Shoko, T and Chirara T. ‘The Gendered Impact of Climate Change in Indigenous Manyika Communities in Zimbabwe’, in F. Mangena (ed), Climate Change and Africa: Legal and Philosophical Issues. London: Routledge, forthcoming 2024.
- Shoko, T. ‘African Traditional Religion and Climate Change Perspectives from Zimbabwe’, in E. Chitando, E. Conradie, S. Kilonzo, African Perspectives on Religion and Climate Change, London: Routledge, 2022, 22-34
- Shoko, T. Karanga Indigenous Religion in Zimbabwe: Health and Well-Being. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishers 2007, 157pp.