Ecomission in Zimbabwe: African Independent Churches and the Ecotheology of Inus Daneel - Paperback

Marthinus L. Daneel was a theologian and environmental activist who spent nearly five decades engaged in participatory research among rural communities in Zimbabwe's Masvingo Province. A conscientious objector during Zimbabwe's War of Liberation (1964-1979), Daneel committed himself to understanding indigenous African religions and their practitioners from 1965 onwards. Daneel's fluency in local Shona languages and his extended residence in rural Zimbabwe enabled him to build deep relationships with communities and gain unprecedented access to religious leaders, sacred sites, and spiritual practices. He was the only outside researcher granted permission to witness oracular communications at the Matopo Hills shrine during the liberation war, and his interviews with guerrilla fighters provided unique insights into the conflict's religious and cultural dimensions. Beyond his scholarly work, Daneel became a pioneering advocate for ecological restoration and interfaith cooperation. In the 1980s, he collaborated with traditionalists and rural churches to launch a tree-planting movement that addressed environmental degradation while fostering Christian-traditionalist dialogue. This grassroots ecological initiative, supported by Dutch and German development agencies, became a model for ecojustice movements across three continents, demonstrating how indigenous knowledge and religious practice could address contemporary environmental crises. Dana L. Robert (Daneel) is an internationally recognized scholar of world Christianity and Christian mission. She is the William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor at Boston University, director of the Center for Global Christianity and Mission at the School of Theology, and a leading historian of world Christianity. Her research focuses on mission history, women in Christianity, and the development of Christian movements around the world. The author or editor of numerous influential books and articles, she has played a significant role in shaping contemporary scholarship on global Christianity and mission studies. Luke B. Donner is a Ph.D. candidate at Boston University School of Theology, where he focuses on the history of Christian missions in Africa. His dissertation examines the mission theology and activities of a church in Zimbabwe following its independence from the Westerners who helped to found it. He is also the archivist of the Daneel Archive of Zimbabwean Religions, housed in the Center for Global Christianity and Mission at Boston University.