Interrogating the Rationale behind the Deportation of Missionaries from Rhodesia: A Case of Colonial Paranoia (1964–1979)
2023 CONFERENCE OF THE CHURCH HISTORY SOCIETY OF SOUTHERN AFRICA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25159/2412-4265/16216Keywords:
missionaries, Smith regime, colonial paranoia, racial equality, social justiceAbstract
The study focuses on the complex interplay between colonial powers, religious actors, and the struggle for social justice and racial equality in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) under the government of Ian Douglas Smith (1964-79). The study uses a postcolonial lens to explore the influence, motivation, and responses of colonial administrators towards missionary actors towards African nationalism and African political struggles. This historical narrative shapes church interactions in politics and economics in view of missionary advocacy and the legacy of African nationalism and its transition beyond that time. This fulfils the study objective, which is to investigate the contribution and impact of the targeted missionaries in creating a just, multi-racial and democratic Zimbabwe. The study examines five prominent missionaries who were targeted by the colonial government and deported out of Rhodesia. They include Bishop Ralph Edward Dodge (1907–2008) and Arthur Guy Clutton-Brock (1906–1995). Fr Michael Traber (SMB) (1929–2006), Sr. Janice McLaughlin (1941–2020), and Bishop Donal Raymond Lamont (O. Carm) (1911–2003). This study showcases the impact of missionaries on Zimbabwe’s ecclesiastical historiography.
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Peaden, W. R. 1979. “Aspects of the Church and its Political Involvement in Southern Rhodesia, 1959-1972.” Zambezia 7 (2): 191–210.
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Ranger, T. “Obama and Africa: Some Critical Reflections.” African Affairs 108 (431): 569–573.
Ranger, T. 1985. “Missionaries, Nationalism, and the Modernization of African Christianity.” The Journal of African History 26 (1): 27–43.
Ranger, T. O. 2004. “Arthur Guy Clutton-Brock: Agriculturist and Political Activist.” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/59788.
Raphael, A. 1986. “Salute for Clutton-Brock on Birthday.” Rhodesia Herald, 22 April 1986. Herald Library Clutton-Brock Files, Harare.
Ruzivo, M. 2017. “Ecumenical Initiatives in Southern Rhodesia: A History of the Southern Rhodesia Missionary Conference 1903–1945. Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae, 43 (1): 1–17. https://doi.org/10.17159/2412-4265/2016/1000
Said, E. W. 1978. Orientalism. Pantheon Books.
Scott, D. W. 2021. “Bishop Dodge Championed Racial Equality.” United Methodist Insight.net, February 11, 2021. Accessed September 20, 2023. https://um-insight.net/in-the-church/umc-global-nature/bishop-dodge-championed-racial-equality/.
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Skelley, S. 2007. “‘Revolutionary’ Bishop Celebrates 100th Birthday.” Florida UMC News Service, 2 March 2007. Accessed July 30, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20080907073219/http:/www.flumc.info/cgi-script/csArticles/articles/000032/003259.htm.
Smith, D. n.d. “Missionaries, Culture, and the State: South Africa and Southern Africa c. 1900–1939.” Journal of African History 36 (2): 249–265.
Spivak, G. C. 1988. “Can the Subaltern Speak?” In C. Nelson and L. Grossberg Eds. Marxism and the Interpretation of Culture. pp. 271–313. University of Illinois Press.
Spivak, G. C. 2023. “Can the Subaltern Speak?” In Imperialism. pp. 171–219. Routledge.
The Independent. 2021. “McLaughlin, Nun who Exposed Abuses in Rhodesia, Dies at 79.” The Independent, 16 March 2021. Accessed October 22, 2023. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/mclaughlin-nun-who-exposed-abuses-in-rhodesia-dies-at-79-johannesburg-emmerson-mnangagwa-african-pittsburgh-mozambique-b1818168.html.
The Telegraph. 2003. “The Right Reverend Donal Lamont.” The Telegraph, 06 September 2003. Accessed March 10, 2024. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1440688/The-Right-Reverend-Donal-Lamont.html.
Thorn, W. J. n.d. “Michael Traber: 1929–2006. ” Communication Research Trends 26 (3): 41. Gale Academic One File, www.link.gale.com/apps/doc/A169411849/AONE?u=anon~bc312bfbandsid=googleScholarandxid=2e17314d. Accessed 30 July 2023.
Todd, J. 1995. “Obituary: Guy Clutton-Brock.” The Independent, 16 February 1995. Accessed January 21, 2024. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary--guy-cluttonbrock-1573319.html
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White, L. A. 2011. Decolonization, the Fall of Rhodesia, and the Rise of Zimbabwe: Development, Democracy and Security. Westport: Praeger Publishers.
Zaba, F. 1991. “Human Rights Fighter Leaves After 16 Years.” Sunday Mail, 22 September. Herald Library McLaughlin Files, Harare.
Adeleye-Fayemi, B., and Orogun, P. 2017. Christianity, Gender, and Human Rights in African contexts: Mapping African women's experiences. Lexington Books.
All Africa. 2021. “Zimbabwe: President Mourns Struggle Activist Sister Janice.” allAfrica.com, 10 March 2021. Accessed August 20, 2023. https://allafrica.com/stories/202103100548.html
Anderson, D. 2005.Christianity and Colonialism in South Africa: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives. University of KwaZulu-Natal Press,
Baxter, P. 2004. Bush War Rhodesia: 1966–1980. Editorial: Solihull, West Midlands, England: Helion & Company Limited; Pinetown, South Africa.
Bhabha, H. K. 1994 [2012]. The Location of Culture. Routledge.
Bliss, T. S. 2023. Wilma Mankiller: A Life in American History. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. https://doi.org/10.5040/9798216183730
Chidester, D. 2014 Christianity: A Global History. Penguin, 2014.
Chinyadza, M. 2020. “Political Theology and Gullibility in Zimbabwe: The Cases of Ralph Dodge (1956 – 1964) and Pius Ncube (1997 – 2007).” Alternation (Special Edition) 35 (December): 85–102 https://doi.org/10.29086/2519-5476/2020/sp35a6
Dodge, R. E. 1964. The Unpopular Missionary. Westwood, NJ: Flemming H. Revell Co.
Dodge, R. E. 1986. The Revolutionary Bishop Who Saw God at Work in Africa. William Carey Library, Pasadena.
Dzimbanhete, J. A. 2017. “The Case of Elim Mission 'Massacre’ During Zimbabwe's Liberation War: Will the Truth Ever be Known?” Africology: The Journal of Pan African Studies 10: 283–296.
Dzobo, S. 2017 “Toward A New Church in a New Africa: A Biographical Study of Bishop Ralph Edward Dodge 1907–2008.” Doctor of Philosophy in Ministry, Asbury Theological Seminary.
Gann, L. H. 1985. “Lord Malvern (Sir Godfrey Huggins): A Reappraisal.” The Journal of Modern African Studies 23 (4): 723–728 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022278X00055051
Gelfand, M. 1970. The Rhodesian Problem: A Documentary Record, 1923–1968. Longman.
Gramsci, A. 1971. Prison Notebooks. Vols.1 and 2. Q. Hoare and G. Nowell Smith, Eds. and Trans. International Publishers. (Original work published 1929–1935)
Haliburton, G. 2013. “Christianity and Colonization in Zimbabwe: The Conversion of Chief Chingaira.” Journal of Religion in Africa 43 (3): 304–329.
Herald Reporter. 1995. “Clutton-Brock Ashes to be scattered at Shrine.” Rhodesia Herald, 15 March. Herald Library Clutton-Brock Files, Harare.
Larsson, G. 2017. “Colonialism and Mission Education: A Comparative Study of the Impact of the Christian Missions on Education in Colonial Zimbabwe and Swedish Lapland, 1890–1940.” Journal of Southern African Studies 43 (6): 1093–1107.
Lipscomb, J. (ed.) 1981. John Raven: By His Friends. Faith Raven.
Maenzanise, B. 2008. “The Church and Zimbabwe’s Liberation Struggle.” Methodist History 46: 2. Accessed January 20, 2024. www.archives,gcah.org.
Macmillan, H. 1960. “Harold Macmillan: The Wind of Change Speech, 3 Feb. 1960: Address by Harold Macmillan to Members of both Houses of the Parliament of the Union Of South Africa, Cape Town, 3 February 1960.” Accessed September 7, 2023. https://web-archives.univ-pau.fr/english/TD2doc1.pdf
Mataire, L. R. “Reliving the Cold Comfort Farm Society.” The Herald - Breaking news, 14 April 2014. Accessed October 6, 2023. https://www.herald.co.zw/reliving-the-cold-comfort-farm-society/
Mclaughlin, J. 2000. On the Frontline: Catholic Missions in Zimbabwe's Liberation War. Harare: Baobab Books and the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference.
McLaughlin, J. 2002. Education with production in Zimbabwe: The story of ZIMFEP. Harare: Zimbabwe Foundation for Education with Production.
Mclaughlin, J. 2021. “The Colour of the Skin Doesn't Matter”: A Missioner’s Tale of Faith and Politics. [S.l.]: Weaver Press, 2021.
Millán-Romeral, F. 2014. Donal Raymond Lamont. Madrid: Fundación Emmanuel Mounier.
Mlambo, A. S. 2009. “From the Second World War to UDI, 1940–1965.” In Raftopoulos, B. and A. Mlambo (eds). 2009. Becoming Zimbabwe: A History from the Pre-Colonial Period to 2008. Harare: Weaver Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvk3gmpr.11
Mudimbe, V. Y. 1988/2020. The Invention of Africa: Gnosis, Philosophy, and the Order of Knowledge. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Mutsago, G. 2004. “Bishop Dodge – An Icon in Zim’s Liberations.” Daily Mirror, 19 August, Profile 5. Herald Library Dodge Files, Harare, 2004.
Nkomazana, F., and S. D. Setume. 2016. “Missionary Colonial Mentality and the Expansion of Christianity in Bechuanaland Protectorate, 1800 to 1900.” Journal for the Study of Religion 29 (2): 29–55.
Nowell, R. 2003. “Obituary: The Rt. Rev. Donald Lamont.” The Guardian, 21 August 2003. Accessed September 14, 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/news/2003/aug/21/guardianobituaries
Palmer, R. 1977. The Rhodesian Crisis and the Roots of White Power. New York: Anchor Press/ Doubleday.
Peaden, W. R. 1979. “Aspects of the Church and its Political Involvement in Southern Rhodesia, 1959-1972.” Zambezia 7 (2): 191–210.
Ranger, T. 1993. Evangelical Christianity and Democracy in Africa. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Ranger, T. “Obama and Africa: Some Critical Reflections.” African Affairs 108 (431): 569–573.
Ranger, T. 1985. “Missionaries, Nationalism, and the Modernization of African Christianity.” The Journal of African History 26 (1): 27–43.
Ranger, T. O. 2004. “Arthur Guy Clutton-Brock: Agriculturist and Political Activist.” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/59788.
Raphael, A. 1986. “Salute for Clutton-Brock on Birthday.” Rhodesia Herald, 22 April 1986. Herald Library Clutton-Brock Files, Harare.
Ruzivo, M. 2017. “Ecumenical Initiatives in Southern Rhodesia: A History of the Southern Rhodesia Missionary Conference 1903–1945. Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae, 43 (1): 1–17. https://doi.org/10.17159/2412-4265/2016/1000
Said, E. W. 1978. Orientalism. Pantheon Books.
Scott, D. W. 2021. “Bishop Dodge Championed Racial Equality.” United Methodist Insight.net, February 11, 2021. Accessed September 20, 2023. https://um-insight.net/in-the-church/umc-global-nature/bishop-dodge-championed-racial-equality/.
Seelye, K. Q. 2021. “Janice McLaughlin, Nun Who Exposed Abuse in Africa, Dies at 79.” The New York Times, 26 March, 2021. Accessed August 13, 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/26/world/africa/janice-mclaughlin-dead.html.
Skelley, S. 2007. “‘Revolutionary’ Bishop Celebrates 100th Birthday.” Florida UMC News Service, 2 March 2007. Accessed July 30, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20080907073219/http:/www.flumc.info/cgi-script/csArticles/articles/000032/003259.htm.
Smith, D. n.d. “Missionaries, Culture, and the State: South Africa and Southern Africa c. 1900–1939.” Journal of African History 36 (2): 249–265.
Spivak, G. C. 1988. “Can the Subaltern Speak?” In C. Nelson and L. Grossberg Eds. Marxism and the Interpretation of Culture. pp. 271–313. University of Illinois Press.
Spivak, G. C. 2023. “Can the Subaltern Speak?” In Imperialism. pp. 171–219. Routledge.
The Independent. 2021. “McLaughlin, Nun who Exposed Abuses in Rhodesia, Dies at 79.” The Independent, 16 March 2021. Accessed October 22, 2023. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/mclaughlin-nun-who-exposed-abuses-in-rhodesia-dies-at-79-johannesburg-emmerson-mnangagwa-african-pittsburgh-mozambique-b1818168.html.
The Telegraph. 2003. “The Right Reverend Donal Lamont.” The Telegraph, 06 September 2003. Accessed March 10, 2024. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1440688/The-Right-Reverend-Donal-Lamont.html.
Thorn, W. J. n.d. “Michael Traber: 1929–2006. ” Communication Research Trends 26 (3): 41. Gale Academic One File, www.link.gale.com/apps/doc/A169411849/AONE?u=anon~bc312bfbandsid=googleScholarandxid=2e17314d. Accessed 30 July 2023.
Todd, J. 1995. “Obituary: Guy Clutton-Brock.” The Independent, 16 February 1995. Accessed January 21, 2024. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary--guy-cluttonbrock-1573319.html
Wayback Machine Peace News. 2006. “Clutton-Brock, Guy (1906–1995).” Wayback Machine Peace News. Accessed February 15, 2024. http://www.peacenews.info/issues/2388/pn238821.htm.
White, L. A. 2011. Decolonization, the Fall of Rhodesia, and the Rise of Zimbabwe: Development, Democracy and Security. Westport: Praeger Publishers.
Zaba, F. 1991. “Human Rights Fighter Leaves After 16 Years.” Sunday Mail, 22 September. Herald Library McLaughlin Files, Harare.
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2024-10-15
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Gundani, Paul Henry. 2024. “Interrogating the Rationale Behind the Deportation of Missionaries from Rhodesia: A Case of Colonial Paranoia (1964–1979): 2023 CONFERENCE OF THE CHURCH HISTORY SOCIETY OF SOUTHERN AFRICA”. Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae 50 (3):17 pages. https://doi.org/10.25159/2412-4265/16216.
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