Religion and Polygyny in a Christian sub-Saharan setting: Combining the Top-Down and Bottom-Up Perspectives Victor Agadjanian , PhD Department of Sociology University of Kansas, USA Carlos Arnaldo , PhD Centre for African Studies Eduardo Mondlane University, Mozambique Abstract Polygyny remains widespread in sub-Saharan Africa. In this study, we contribute to a better understanding of the role of organized religion in the resilience of the institution of polygyny. Using a unique combination of data from a census of religious congregation leaders and a household-based survey of women conducted in parallel in a predominantly Christian rural district in southern Mozambique, we examine variations in polygyny attitudes and practices across different types of Christian denominations. The multivariate analyses produced a nuanced picture of how religious leaders and rank-and-file members of different denominations negotiate and reconcile the doctrinal norms with the realities of both the marriage and religious markets. Specifically, the analyses detect substantial net denominational variations in prevalence and acceptance of polygyny, with the largest contrast being between two types of African Initiated Churches (AIC) – Zionist (highest prevalence and acceptance) and Apostolic – further illustrating the complex nature of the AIC phenomenon.
Background and conceptualization Polygyny remains widespread across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), including settings where both legal and cultural norms are supposed to discourage it (Corbinian and Kyara 2013). In this study, we contribute to a better understanding of the role of religion in the resilience of the institution of polygyny. Using a unique combination of data from a census of religious congregation leaders and a household-based survey of women conducted at about the same time in a predominantly Christian rural district in southern Mozambique, we examine variations in polygyny attitudes and practices across different types of Christian denominations. Considerable research has addressed the association of organized religion with polygyny in sub-Saharan Africa. Much of that research, however, has focused on Christian-Muslim differences. Thus Islam, which doctrinally permits polygyny, is usually believed to be more conducive to it than Christianity (e.g., Hayase & Liaw, 1997; Klomegah 1997). Indeed, in predominantly Muslim areas of the sub-continent, polygyny is often justified by reference to the Islamic canon (Agadjanian & Ezeh 2000). In Kudo’s (2014) study in Malawi, Muslim women (along with women with no formal religion) were more likely to be in polygynous unions than were Christian women. In their study of five sub-Saharan countries, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, Uganda and Zambia, Timæus & Reynar (1998) found that Muslims and other non-Christian women were more likely to be married polygynously than Christians, although in Kenya the association of religion and polygynous marriage was not significant after adjusting for other characteristics. Recent multi-national analyses of DHS data documented higher rates of polygyny among Muslims, compared to non-Muslims (Dalton & Leung, 2014; Westoff and Bietsch 2015). Yet, the cross-national evidence is inconclusive (e.g., Barber 2008), and, as Madhavan (2002) 1
argued, in Islamic societies attitudes toward polygyny vary across cultural and socioeconomic contexts. Although it is often assumed that Christianity is opposed to polygyny, research has produced evidence of considerable variations in polygyny levels across Christian denominations (e.g., Klomegah 1997). Historically, most Christian missions in Africa adamantly condemned polygyny as incompatible with “true” Christian doctrine and values and even as a source of abuse against women, but the reality has often conflicted with this seemingly unambiguous stance, especially as Christian churches became increasingly indigenized in many parts of the sub-continent (Nmah 2012). Thus in Cameroon, local interpretations of Christianity (often articulated by women), presented polygyny as fully congruent with Christian faith (Notermans 2002). Falen (2008) argues against a generalization that women prefer the monogamous Christian model in Benin, as marriage choices are shaped by considerations of economic rationality and social prestige. In fact, justification for polygyny is often sought in Biblical texts (Phiri 2006). In South Africa, some churches, such as Shembe church (the Nazareth Baptist Church), an African initiated church (AIC) founded by Isaiah Shembe in 1910 that blends Christianity with elements of Zulu traditional religion, took a lenient, if not favorable, attitude toward polygyny (e.g., Hillman 1975). Not surprisingly, in a study conducted in a South African demographic surveillance site, polygyny levels were higher among followers of that church compared to the rest of the population (Hosegood et al. 2009). Baloyi (2013) found greater acceptance of polygyny among AIC and Pentecostal churches, compared to mission-initiated (or “mainline”) ones. In his analyses of correlates of polygyny based on the National Population Census and Demographic and Health Survey data from Mozambique, Arnaldo (2004; 2011) found significantly lower levels of polygyny among Roman Catholics and no significant 2
difference across other Christian denominations or between non-Catholic Christians and Muslims. Following this evidence, we expect to find variations in acceptability and practice of polygyny across denominational types, with denominations that are more lenient on traditional religious and cultural practices in general having higher polygyny rates and greater acceptance of polygynous marriages. Going beyond testing this general hypothesis, we look at various dimensions of polygyny-related attitudes, and we also compare how leaders and rank-and-file members of different churches articulate their views on acceptability of polygyny and reflect on what may account for possible dissonance in the official vs. popular affirmation and interpretation of church position on polygyny. Setting The data for this study come from the district of Chibuto in Mozambique’s southern Gaza province. The district’s population numbered around 200,000 at the last (2007) population census for which data are available at this writing. 1 The mainstay of this predominantly rural district’s economy is subsistence farming. Low agriculture yields, made even less predictable by frequents floods and droughts, and the proximity of the area to South Africa, has made male labor migration to the neighboring country an important element of the district’s economic and social fabric. The district is largely monoethnic, dominated by the Changana ethnicity and language. The traditional lineage system of southern Mozambique is patrilineal and its culture is highly patriarchal (Junod 1912; Loforte 2000). As in many patrilineal sub-Saharan settings, marriage in southern Mozambique is traditionally bridewealth-based. However, even in rural 1 The most recent population census was carried out in Mozambique in August 2017. 3
areas, the institution of marriage has undergone considerable erosion, with bridewealth payments often delayed or foregone altogether. The district is predominantly Christian, with considerable denominational diversity. Roman Catholicism was de facto the official church of the Portuguese empire, of which Mozambique was part until its independence in 1975. Yet, the colonial times also saw the arrival and spread of mission-based Protestant denominations, such as Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian, and other. Starting in the late colonial period and well into independence, the district saw a massive proliferation of Pentecostal-type African Initiated Churches (AIC). Among them, Zionist churches, first brought to the area from South Africa, grew particularly fast. Zionists’ emphasis on miracle healing through the power of the Holy Spirit has been a particularly strong attraction causing massive defections from the Catholic Church and mainline Protestant denominations. Although individual Zionist churches are typically small, together Zionists make up the largest denominational block in southern Mozambique. Another category of AIC that has gained ground in the area is Apostolic churches. Unlike ideologically and organizationally amorphous Zionists, Apostolics are characterized by very rigid and insular ideology and organizational structure. Finally, historically most recent arrivals on southern Mozambique’s religious scene are neo- Pentecostal churches. In contrast to earlier Pentecostals, these new religious actors, often originating outside the African continent, are focused on pursuit of holistic wellness, beyond cure for or protection from illness (Agadjanian & Yabiku 2015). In the study area, as in other patrilineal societies of SSA, polygyny is traditionally normative and widespread (Arnaldo, 2007; Junod 1912; Sithoe 2009). Polygyny is demographically sustained by high birth rates and gender age difference in age at marriage (Goldman & Pebley 1989) and also by relatively high male adult mortality and shortage of men due to out-migration. 4
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