Tag: religion

An Analysis of the Tsikamutanda Witch Hunting phenomenon in Eastern Zimbabwe: An Interview with Headman Nemasase

February 25, 2017 | by | 0 Comments
By Chris Mataruka and Takudzwa Mazwienduna Superstition is sometimes considered a harmless phenomenon, which is why we seldom find citizens or legislators mounting serious opposition to unsubstantiated opinions deeply held by various people.  Most of this superstition is inspired by irrational fear; the fear of the unknown, which often makes paranoia a trait found amongst […] Read more

Anti-Voodoo Cult: Death, Despair, and Religious Exploitation in West Africa

February 10, 2017 | by | 1 Comments
They died expecting the Holy Spirit who never descended to rescue them. They died seeking spiritual help that they never received. Five persons reportedly suffocated to death and several others were hospitalized for respiratory problems after a prayer ritual went awry in Benin in West Africa. A religious cult that opposed the local voodoo tradition, […] Read more

Humanism: Realising and Resisting Change in Africa

January 25, 2017 | by | 1 Comments
In 1994, a student gave me a book, and one of the lines in the book read, “If you want to change the society, start a movement”. I did not understand the full importance of this statement but the insight struck me and stuck with me, and never left me since then. In 1996, I […] Read more

Fears and Terror: ​​Europe under Attack

December 22, 2016 | by | 0 Comments
For over five years I have been living in Europe, and I have never at any time been as worried as I am right now for humankind. I have never had any reason to be more apprehensive or more disturbed about the future than I am today, at this very moment. This is because the […] Read more

Interview with Bob Churchill – Director of Communications at the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU)

December 11, 2016 | by | 1 Comments
Bob Churchill is the Communications Director for The International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU), Editor of The Free Thought Report. Bob Churchill is also a trustee of Conway Hall Ethical Society and a trustee of the Karen Woo Foundation. How did you become involved in humanism and IHEU? I have a habit of looking at any situation and saying “Ok, […] Read more

Prophetic Christianity and its ‘Doom-contents’ in Africa

November 27, 2016 | by | 0 Comments
The image of a South African pastor spraying his congregation with a pesticide called Doom during a ‘healing session’ has sparked a wave of outrage and condemnation across the world. This self-proclaimed prophet, Lethebo Rabalago, heads a church called Mount of Zion General Assembly in Limpopo province. A member of his congregation had an eye infection and […] Read more