The Lumpa Church, an independent Christian church, was established in 1953 by "Alice" Lenshina Mulenga in the village of Kasama,
Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in Southern Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia and North ...
(
Zambia
Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...
). The church promoted a blend of
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
and traditional religious values and practices, including a belief in the role of women as spiritual mediums.
Origin
The group began with the ideals of Alice Mulenga Lubusha who rechristened herself
Alice Lenshina or essentially "Alice Regina."
The group was what could be deemed the "eradication movement" in African religion. It strongly opposed
polygamy
Polygamy (from Late Greek , "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, it is called polygyny. When a woman is married to more tha ...
and
sorcery.
Further narration
By 1958 the organization adopted the controversial rejection of all earthly authority. It began having its own courts and refused to pay taxes or be registered with the state. This led to a confrontation known as the
"Lumpa uprising" soon after Zambia became independent. This violent confrontation led to the deaths of approximately 700 members and the arrest of Alice Lenshina. Alice was released in 1975, but imprisoned two years later for trying to revive the movement's strength. The Catholic Lay movement
Legion of Mary adopted some of their hymns and thus converted some of the former members, although the Lumpa Church itself is said to survive and split into various churches - Jerusalem Church, Uluse Kamutola Church, New Jerusalem Church, Siloam Church.
See also
*
Alice Lenshina
*
History of Church activities in Zambia
*
New religious movement
A new religious movement (NRM), also known as a new religion, is a religious or Spirituality, spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in origin, or they can be part ...
References
External links
Alice Lenshina biographical information
{{Authority control
Christian denominations in Zambia
Christian new religious movements
Christian organizations established in 1953
1953 establishments in Northern Rhodesia