Pastoral Care from a Third World Perspective

A Pastoral Theology of Care for the Urban Contemporary Shona in Zimbabwe

Tapiwa N. Mucherera

 

Synopsis

The advent and approach of colonization and Christianity condemned the African traditional religion and culture as paganistic and backward. This created issues of bi-culturalism and bi-religiousness in personal and religious identity that the church needs to address. For those living in most post-colonial countries, there is the existence of deep psychological and spiritual scars that need healing. The Western Christian rituals in use in most African mainline churches exclude any traditional religious rituals. A new pastoral theology of care and psychodynamic understanding of integrative consciousness is needed in these contexts.

Review

[Mucherera] breaks new ground in narrating Shona religion and culture and specifying the impact of Christianity and Western culture on the indigenous methodology and cosmology. Pastoral Care from a Third World Perspective is without parallel. - Noel Leo Erskine, Candler School of Theology

Author

Dr. Tapiwa N. Mucherera is professor in Pastoral Counseling. He joined Asbury Theological Seminary's faculty in 1999 on the Wilmore campus.