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The Lumpa Church, an independent Christian church, was established in 1953 by Lenshina Mulenga in the village of Kasoma, Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia

Northern Rhodesia was a territory in southern Africa initially administered under charter by the British South Africa Company and formed by it in 1911 by Amalgamation North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia....
 (Zambia
Zambia

The Republic of Zambia is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
). The church promoted a blend of Christian
Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism#Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus and interpreted by Christians to have been prophesied in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament....
 and traditional religious values and practices, including a belief in the role of women as spiritual mediums.

The group began with the ideals of Alice Mulenga Lubusha who rechristened herself Alice Lenshina
Alice Lenshina

Alice Lenshina was born Alice Mulenga Mubisha in the Chinsali district of the northern province of Northern Rhodesia. Alice was the name she was given at baptism, while Mulenga was her traditional African name....
 or essentially "Alice Regina." The group was what could be deemed the "eradication movement" in African religion.






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The Lumpa Church, an independent Christian church, was established in 1953 by Lenshina Mulenga in the village of Kasoma, Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia

Northern Rhodesia was a territory in southern Africa initially administered under charter by the British South Africa Company and formed by it in 1911 by Amalgamation North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia....
 (Zambia
Zambia

The Republic of Zambia is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
). The church promoted a blend of Christian
Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism#Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus and interpreted by Christians to have been prophesied in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament....
 and traditional religious values and practices, including a belief in the role of women as spiritual mediums.

The group began with the ideals of Alice Mulenga Lubusha who rechristened herself Alice Lenshina
Alice Lenshina

Alice Lenshina was born Alice Mulenga Mubisha in the Chinsali district of the northern province of Northern Rhodesia. Alice was the name she was given at baptism, while Mulenga was her traditional African name....
 or essentially "Alice Regina." The group was what could be deemed the "eradication movement" in African religion. It strongly opposed polygamy
Polygamy

The term polygamy is used in related ways in social anthropology, sociobiology, and sociology. Polygamy can be defined as any "Types of marriages in which a person [has] more than one spouse."...
 and sorcery
Magic (paranormal)

Magic, sometimes known as sorcery, is a conceptual system that asserts human ability to control or predict the nature through Mysticism, paranormal or supernatural means....
 .

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 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
Legion of Mary

The Legion of Mary is an association of Roman Catholic Church laity who serve the Church on a voluntary basis. It was founded in Dublin, Ireland, as a Roman Catholic Marian Movement by layman Frank Duff , and has today over three million active members worldwide....
 adopted some of their hymns and thus converted some of the former members. Although the Lumpa Church itself is said to survive in a diminished and largely underground form.

Further details are in History of Church activities in Zambia
History of Church activities in Zambia

Christianity has been very much at the heart of the narrative the Zambian region since the European colonial explorations into the interior of Africa in the mid nineteenth century....


See also

  • History of Church activities in Zambia
    History of Church activities in Zambia

    Christianity has been very much at the heart of the narrative the Zambian region since the European colonial explorations into the interior of Africa in the mid nineteenth century....


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