This timely and interdisciplinary volume offers a critical exploration of race, migration, and the role of the church in fostering peace and justice in contemporary Southern Africa. Against the backdrop of growing global tensions surrounding race and immigration, the book foregrounds the complexities of racism and xenophobia in South Africa and Zimbabwe―two nations where these issues remain deeply entrenched. Bringing together scholars from across the humanities, social sciences, theology, and law, this collection interrogates the social and political conditions that have fueled anti-immigrant sentiment, particularly toward Zimbabweans in South Africa. It also examines the urgent and often overlooked responsibility of the church in promoting racial reconciliation and social cohesion. With a strong emphasis on cross-disciplinary dialogue, this volume provides fresh perspectives on how faith communities can address systemic injustice and respond to the lived realities of migrants and marginalized groups. A vital resource for scholars, policymakers, clergy, and activists alike, Race, Church, and Society challenges us to reimagine the church’s place in a fractured world, and its power to heal it.
Tobias Marevesa is a New Testament Senior Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, under the Robert Mugabe School of Heritage and Education at the Great Zimbabwe University where he teaches New Testament Studies and New Testament Greek. He holds a PhD with the University of Pretoria in South Africa. He is a Research Fellow, Institute for Theology and Religion, College of Human Sciences University of South Africa and a Postdoctoral Fellow - University of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. His areas of interest are New Testament studies and politics, Pentecostal expressions in Zimbabwean Christianity, culture, human rights, and gender-based violence. He has also published in the area of New Testament studies and conflict-resolution in the Zimbabwean political landscape.
R Simangaliso Kumalo, is Professor of Public Theology in the School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics, University of KwaZulu-Natal. He is also the Dean and Head of the same school. He is also Director of the Centre for Constructive Theology. He has authored 10 books and over 60 academic articles. His books include Pastor and Politician: Essays on the Legacy of Dr JL Dube, the first President of the African National Congress, Politics and Religion in Swaziland. He lives in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Author's Biographies Baloyi Ezekiel holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Theology with Dogmatics (Church History and Systematic Theology) from North-West University, South Africa. He is a lecturer in the Department of Theology in the Faculty of Arts Theology and Heritage Studies at the Reformed Church University, Zimbabwe. He is also a Research Fellow in the Department of Practical Theology and Missional Theology, Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of the Free State, South Africa. Ezekiel Baloyi is a peer reviewer of accredited international journals, an external examiner at North-West University, and a member of the Church History Society of Southern Africa. Chidarikire Munyaradzi is a senior lecturer in the Department of Curriculum Studies at the Faculty of Education, Great Zimbabwe University. He has a wealth of experience in the field of educational psychology, having served as a lecturer and counsellor at various universities, including Bindura University of Science Education and Midlands State University. He is currently teaching Health Life Skills and supervising Master's, and Bachelor of Honours degree research students at Great Zimbabwe University. He also serves as an internal and external examiner of PhD, Master and Honours Degrees for universities in Zimbabwe and South Africa. Before his current role, he was a Postdoctoral research fellow at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Throughout his academic career, he has been recognized for his achievements, having received four best student awards at university and college levels. Additionally, he has secured educational grants to support his ongoing research studies.
