Reflections on an Important Book and the Ways in Which it Might be Read – Joel Cabrita's The People's Zion

THE PEOPLE'S ZION: SOUTHERN AFRICA, THE UNITED STATES, AND A TRANSATLANTIC FAITH-HEALING MOVEMENTBy Joel Cabrita, Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2018 . Pp. 368. Hardcover, $37.71. This is an impressive and important book, field-defining in several ways. Not only does it redefine the religious movement presented here under the basic term Zion within Global Christianity, but it also contributes massively to southern African religious history. First, I will make some general comments about the fields that are likely to be particularly enriched by it. Then I focus on aspects that stood out for me within the pages of the book itself. Finally, I will comment on the possible ways the book might be received and perceived, particularly within the South African academic landscape. Regarding the general contribution, this is an excellent text both in terms of the worldwide history of evangelicalism and secondly in terms of southern African Christianity and its international interrelations. In an era where it has become increasingly difficult to say anything good about evangelicals and evangelicalism in their current formations, especially in the USA, this book provides helpful historical nuance. The approach emphasizing the egalitarian impetus in this movement is reminiscent, in some ways at least, of the work of Richard Elphick (2012) in the Equality of Believers, which is specifically about Protestant missionaries in South Africa. Interestingly, Elphick's book, which I have to date considered to be the most important work on the history of Christianity in South Africa, barely mentions Zion, or at least only very briefly. In that sense, The People's Zion would already be an important additional text and even a corrective for students of Christianity and its missionary networks in that part of the world. In a similar vein, this reminds one of the general point made by Robert Woodberry (2012) in his influential work on protestant missions and their long-term effects on democratizing and equalizing trends in places where it was most active as published, for example, in the article “The Missionary Roots of Liberal Democracy.” Of course, The People's Zion is not concerned with such general trends, but the theme of equalization as it relates to Zion is emphasized throughout, and the narrative does seem to end on a hopeful note regarding the ongoing and future effects of this movement within the context of southern Africa. The overarching structure that takes the reader from nineteenth-century southeastern Australia to turn of the century American Midwest and onwards to Johannesburg and elsewhere in South Africa to ultimately end up in Swaziland works well. It evokes movement through time and space. Zion is a dynamic faith tradition. This structure seems to capture the essence of that mobile identity very effectively. Of course, this also brings aspects of the history of John Alexander Dowie to the fore that have not previously received much consideration, especially the Australian part of the story, which is shown to be a truly formative period. For me, the mentioned early connections to the Salvation Army were especially interesting simply because contemporary aspects of Zion, for example, the brass bands of some Zion churches like the Zion Christian Church and the way they tend to perform, seem to be so clearly inspired by Salvation Army uniforms and parades. Who would have thought that the roots of all of this lay in nineteenth-century Adelaide? Yet that seems to be the case precisely, as shown in this book. The narrative flows in a way that makes sense. In its entirety, it manages to capture the most important figures and developments within this movement. To me, the earliest parts focusing on Dowie's interesting and somewhat conflicted personal history are probably the most illuminating. Here was a charismatic divine healer with remarkably progressive and egalitarian views about social relations, at an early stage, who nonetheless ended up declaring himself a born-again biblical prophet with all the authoritarian connotations implied in such a status as time went by. Despite the reputational damage the latter development inflicted on his legacy, Dowie's stance on race as further broadcasted by emissaries, especially Edgar Mahon, is important to note in retrospect. Various scholars of protestant mission have recently shown how, for example, “conversionary Protestantism,” as Woodberry calls it, was successful and even democratizing despite the often-racist attitudes and policies of the missionaries who originally delivered the message. This narrative of the early Zion missionaries appears to show something similar but also more than that. If one considers it with knowledge in hindsight of how the Zion movement subsequently took off in Southern Africa, it may well indicate that missionary attitudes did indeed make an important difference. African agency in the subsequent leadership of these churches might have been less a case of a decisive break with the sending tradition but more likely a logical follow-through on ideas that were already in position. Clearly, there was much admiration for Dowie himself, if from a distance. I think this is one of the important points presented through that part of the narrative and with good effect. No doubt the success of Zion in South Africa was not guaranteed by any of this, but perhaps all of that was a more important catalyst than had formerly been acknowledged in the scholarly tradition. Of course, by conceding this point, it would be impossible not to also consider the legacy of the less savory aspect of the Dowie story, in other words, the later authoritarianism and claims to divine authority, prophethood, and so on. Cabrita acknowledges this by stating, for example, “Zion has been marked by discrepancies between its ideals and its actual attainments. Zion professed themselves committed to a radically democratic vision of the Kingdom of God; but in reality, Zion's history has been peopled by highly autocratic leaders” (12). Emphasizing either one or the other of these two characteristics would have consequences for the way the narrative played out, perhaps even in the way the book was structured. My reading is that perhaps the democratizing ideal received the brunt of the emphasis. Let me return to this point in the conclusion. In addition to the models of leadership, both positively and negatively, that Dowie portrayed, and which might have been inherited by some of his successors in Africa, I was also very interested in the portrayal of the original Zion City north of Chicago, which the book characterizes as a “utopian industrial town” (78). A cosmopolitan, egalitarian community removed from worldly temptations like alcohol, tobacco, and medicine obviously had significant transatlantic and cross-cultural resonance. Zion City Moria (ZCM), the headquarters of the Zion Christian Church, is a good example (see Muller 2011). Whereas The People's Zion mentions the original juxtaposition of the godly Zion City with the worldly Chicago, ZCM was likely supposed to mirror a similar juxtaposition with Johannesburg and possibly later with the apartheid cities of South Africa more generally. ZCM is characterized by similar proscriptions against alcohol and tobacco. Although the older injunctions against western medicine have become relaxed over time, proscriptions against African medicine remain in place. I could not help but read Moria into what I have seen on these pages. For example, Cabrita refers to the fact that the title Dr. at some point became prefixed to Dowie's name (67). I have similarly heard Bishop Barnabas Lekganyane of the Zion Christian Church referred to as “Doctor” in announcements by ZCC preachers at various instances. This is not someone with a PhD or a medical degree, of course, but a church leader who, like Dowie of old, is understood to be a powerful religious healer. The idea of “citizenship in Zion” (72) similarly rings a bell. Certainly, a church like the ZCC models a type of alternative citizenship characterized by internal documentation, flags, badges, and codes of conduct. The cosmopolitanism which Dowie liked to emphasize as represented in Zion City (82) reminded me of similar refrains I heard at major events held at ZCM where much is made of the multitude of nationalities and languages represented. It seemed to be a matter of pride that sermons were interpreted into several of these languages. How fascinating is it to think, as revealed in this book, that this mirroring of the model of a heavenly city on earth complete with its own industries, albeit of different varieties in terms of product, was a vision that Dowie himself had hoped to achieve. As the book quotes him in a 1903 sermon: “there is no visible end to the possibilities of this city ... I begin to think of a city of Zion on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, and another on the shores of the Pacific .... I believe within twenty years we will plant ten great Zion Cities on the five great continents of the earth” (90). Of course, in the case of ZCM, and no doubt multiple other African Zions as well, this was established by a later generation disciple whose own followers had perhaps very little, if any, knowledge of the historical thread connecting their church to Dowie's Zion. Despite this suggestion, I do note the citation of early African converts like Elijah Lutango, 151–152, who apparently had a keen sense of and interest in their international affiliation and connection to Dowie and the original Zion City. The story of Pieter le Roux, his connection to Andrew Murray at Wellington, and Le Roux's subsequent role in African Zion on the South African Highveld is a well-known one. However, this book brings to light illuminating details. I was particularly struck by the references to Le Roux's writings in Leaves of Healing regarding Zion turning “unreliable” Africans into trustworthy servants. His early claim struck a chord. “[I]n Zion the raw native becomes a honest and conscientious labourer who loves to do right ... all the white people want Zion natives as their servants” (153). This might have become something of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Anyone growing up in an Afrikaner community in Pretoria during the 1980 s, for example, would know that this was perhaps the single most common assertion one could hear whenever white people had anything to say regarding Zionists, namely their trustworthiness as domestic servants. The book zooms in on an important and controversial aspect of the Zion movement as the 20th century developed. That is the issue of the emergence of a multitude of self-styled prophets prioritizing their divine calling under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, as they saw it, while also casting aspersions on the value of colonial and missionary education since the interwar years. An aspect not explored by the book, as far as I could tell, was that this anti-educational approach of Zionists was likely further bolstered by the institution of Bantu education a couple of decades later. Bantu education as a hegemonic policy effectively degraded all education for Africans to such a degree that those who were already suspicious of it were, ironically, perhaps the ones left with the least to lose as a result of its institution. Did Zion gain converts due to the generally poor state of available options under Bantu education? It seems likely. Similar to these early expressions of vaccine skepticism, one could read about in The People's Zion the general anti-education, even antiscience stance is perhaps not surprising given the fact that contemporary evangelicalism in some parts of the world today is also known for employing a hermeneutic of suspicion towards scientific medicine. Many self-described evangelicals today also prefer the remedies of their own prophets instead. If one were to bring these themes in line with one another, it would seem to further confirm the general thesis that Zion is not some anomalous, purely African version of Christianity but, indeed, part of a global movement. The underlying theme of Zionists in some ways taking advantage of imperial and apartheid strategies for their own purposes comes to the fore with good effect, especially in the discussion of the colonial preoccupation with ethnicities, and homelands, and so on. The author notes: “the flourishing of ethnic identities in this period was pioneered by a more complex cast of actors. These included the architects of white-led states but also featured traditional African chiefly authorities and early black nationalists” (198). Cabrita further mentions the case of Zion in Swaziland, which “became explicitly allied with promoting the institution of the Swazi monarchy and Swazi cultural values.” At the same time, the subversive nature of Zion, which is a central theme in this book, is well illustrated by their refusal to be contained either by ethnicity or by any externally erected barriers. The case of the Zion Christian Church is mentioned in this regard in the 1930 s example of the Motswana Motsisi Ralefala who became converted to Zionism in Johannesburg, then returned to Bechuanaland from where he would lead a pilgrimage of fellow believers to Zion City Moria in the northern Transvaal (210). As a kind of antithesis to these border-crossing tendencies within Zion, the book also discusses, importantly, the interplay between Zionism and ethnic nationalism. A Zulu walkout from Elias Mahlangu's Zion Apostolic Church in Johannesburg is mentioned, and much attention is given to the Swazi case, which sets up the final chapter on Youthful Reformers and the Politics of Bible Schools in the Kingdom of Swaziland. Despite the prevailing view by many outsiders that Zion prophet-led churches are antidemocratic, resistant to women leadership, and so forth, this chapter highlights a lesser-known aspect, in fact, “hitherto unstudied,” which is the ongoing existence of “pockets of transatlantic exchange.” This is seen in the Bible schools involving missionaries from North America. Might this be indicative of a more general trend of decades-long mutual suspicion between American and African Zionists now giving way to closer cooperation, focusing on education, possibly heralding a new era of Reform? This would include biblical literacy and emphasis on reading and preaching the bible in its proper context. This contrasts with the more typical view of Zionist preachers treating their approach to scripture as entirely spirit-led and devoid of any form of exegesis. Any kind of reform, of course, leads to tension, and this chapter covers that well by ending with an expression of the age-old concern by some insiders who are wary that education might disrupt the power of the free-flowing spirit. The afterword deemphasizing the traditional scholarly constructed dichotomy between Zion and Pentecost is a fine note to end with. Of course, these movements are interrelated and always have been, and this point seems to echo and reinforce the more general theme of the transnational, transcontinental interconnections within these movements at large. Now, onwards to the issue of perception and reception and a potential challenge this book might face. As previously indicated, this is a well-balanced approach that emphasizes both general patterns, including the role of missionaries and African agency and various interactions over time. However, within a context of Africanization and decolonization of curricula, which have become pronounced themes, especially in the South African academy but also to a degree elsewhere, I wonder whether such an interconnected narrative would really be perceived as good news. Sure enough, as the book also indicates, the earlier scholarly emphasis on a distinctively “African” character of Zion had a lot to do with the more general realization regarding the global shift of Christianity from North to South and, with it, the need to rediscover Christianity as a “non-western religion” as the theologian Kwame Bediako had put it (Bediako 1997). While Africa or African culture has often been presented in statically constructed ways in such discourses, an important matter to bear in mind is that these discussions do not occur only at the academic level but also at a local community level and within general church life. Above and beyond the whims of scholars, there are the perceptions of the general populace, Zionists and non-Zionists alike. Many people in southern Africa know a little bit, if not a lot, about Zion, or at least they think they do. It would not be much of a stretch to claim that for the vast majority Zion is quintessentially “African” even if by African not everyone means the same thing. For many, this designation is a matter of pride. Of course, good books are not supposed to confirm public opinion, and so this one does not do that either. Still, it is not difficult to imagine the potential for a degree of disillusionment and resistance in, for example, South African classrooms encountering The People's Zion as a textbook in, for example, church history courses. But perhaps that would not be a bad thing. As indicated throughout this book, the movement itself has often been contrarian and rebellious. So, if the book invited resistance, it would be echoing or perhaps channeling the spirit of its subject matter. Having mentioned public perception, I should also hazard the opinion that for most Southern Africans, especially in the northern regions of South Africa, but also in a place like Botswana, Zion would primarily be associated with one or another branch of the Zion Christian Church. And although the ZCC does receive some mention here, this is rather limited. The almost equally large St. Engenas ZCC is not mentioned, and neither are the large Zimbabwean Zionist groups, for example, the Mutendi branch of the ZCC. Of course, everything cannot be included, but it might be worth pondering whether an emphasis on these types of churches with their formidable hierarchical would not have the to the that the in of the equalizing impetus of Zion would have become somewhat less These are more about how within the general than about the book which I consider a for students of religious history in different and especially the history of Christianity in southern Africa

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