6-15-06, 9:11am

HARARE, 14 Jun 2006 (IRIN) - Zimbabwean churches trying to address the worsening political and economic crises are being thrust into the unfamiliar role of political activism, and are perceived as split along party lines.

Church groups perceived to support President Robert Mugabe and those who favour a faction of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change led by Morgan Tsvangirai have been attacking each other, making headlines with their public bickering.

The running verbal battles started on 25 May, when organisers of the traditional National Day of Prayer, observed by Zimbabweans of all religious denominations, cancelled the function after they were summoned to the president's office.

The National Day of Prayer has always been organised by the Zimbabwe Council of Churches, (ZCC), a grouping of traditional and Pentecostal denominations. After meeting Mugabe, some ZCC members appeared on national television to express support for the 82-year-old veteran president and his policies.

Insiders claimed the decision to cancel the prayer day was spurred by a fear that the more radical, pro-opposition Zimbabwe Christian Alliance would take over the show.

During the liberation war, which lasted from the late 1960s until the late 1970s, Mugabe was quoted in an interview as saying: 'We appeal to them [churches] to allow us to politicise the people under their control because we believe that everybody must be mobilised so that the total commitment of our people can be achieved.'

With inflation at almost 1,200 percent, poverty-stricken Zimbabweans have sought refuge in religion, as IRIN reported recently. Churches have noted rapidly growing numbers of new members, while several top government officials have also become lay preachers or have applied to train as pastors. Political influence over religious groups has become critical to controlling the masses.

The president of the ZCC, Peter Nemapare, told a television reporter after the State House meeting: 'We know we have a government that we must support, interact with and draw attention to our concerns. Those of us who have different ideas about this country surely must know we have a government which listens.'

This was roundly condemned by other church members and the Christian Alliance. 'We totally disagree with the tone and substance of the sentiments voiced by the church leaders who went to state house. In what way do they support this government which has shed innocent blood, brutally tortured its citizens and destroyed their homes and livelihoods, and promoted racial hatred?' the alliance asked in a statement issued last week.

Bishop Trevor Manhanga, who led the delegation that met with Mugabe, denied they were supporters of the ruling party. 'We are prepared to be given all sorts of labels and brick-bats that will be thrown at us, but we will not be diverted from pursuing dialogue,' he told IRIN.

The Christian Alliance promptly staged a prayer march in Zimbabwe's second city, Bulawayo, to commemorate people affected by the state-sponsored purge of informal settlements and markets called Operation Murambatsvina, which began in May last year and left more than 700,000 people homeless and often also without livelihoods.

The ruling party and those churches perceived as pro-Mugabe seized the initiative by cancelling the annual day of prayer and renaming it the Zimbabwe National Day of Prayer, but a prayer march by the Alliance in the capital, Harare, is scheduled for 25 June to coincide with the new day of prayer.

'On our part, there can be no partnership with the ZANU-PF government until and unless there is genuine repentance and change on its part - what relationship can there be between the light of the Gospel and the darkness it stands for?' the alliance asked in the statement.

Pius Ncube, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Bulawayo and a known Mugabe critic, has also jumped into the fray, alleging that some clergymen had been bribed by the state to praise the country's leadership.

'There is no secret about the fact that some of the church leaders who embarrassed the church by praising Mugabe have got farms that they were given by the government, and that compromises them because they will never speak for the poor and downtrodden. A lot of our colleagues are actually working with ZANU-PF to try and help the ruling party to boost its membership.'

ZCC's Manhanga denied that they had been given money and farms to campaign for Mugabe. 'There has been a lot of talk that we were given farms and money, but the issue is not about whether we were given farms or not; the issue is we should try and bring the problems facing Zimbabweans to an end.'

According to an internal memo, currently in circulation among the churches perceived as pro-government, Mugabe will be the guest of honour at the new day of prayer on 25 June. 'We all agreed on the need for such an event [national prayer day] and the modalities of holding the event, including how the government will participate.'

A veteran church leader, Jonah Gokova, has criticised politicising the day of prayer. 'If it [the day of prayer] is for all Zimbabweans, then the ruling party and all opposition party leaders should have been invited to pray for peace. We are very sad at the developments that are taking place in the church.'