Results
Noting the comment above about the differences between the ICDS and Abrobarometer data,
we first looked at the distribution of Apostolics and other religions across the Provinces in
Zimbabwe.
Figure 1
Distribution of religions by Province
25
21
20
15
10
18
17
11
6 6
6
13
11
8
9 10
10
12
11
9
6 5
5
6
4
0
Apostolic
Other religions
As can be seen, the highest prevalence of those declaring affiliation to an Apostolic church
are in Masvingo and the Midlands. This seems at odds with common knowledge that sees a
strong presence of Apostolics in the Mashonaland Provinces, but it has to be pointed out that
this distribution is based on people’s own responses about their affiliations. We cannot claim
that this distribution is an accurate reflection of the actual prevalence and distribution of
Apostolics nationally, but it does suffice for answering our questions about political
participation.
As indicated above, we included the Lived Poverty Index as a potential check on economic
differences between Apostolics and other religions as there is an anecdotal perception that the
Apostolic churches attract both less economically-advantaged persons.
Table 3
Lived Poverty Index
It was also evident from the
Afrobarometer that, at least in this
sample of Zimbabweans, there are
more women in Apostolic churches
than men, and, given the reputation in
this religious group for polygamous
marriage, it might be expected that
there was greater poverty.
Other
religions Apostolic
[n=983] [n=216]
How often gone without
food
How often gone without
water
How often gone without
medical care
How often gone without
cooking fuel
How often gone without
cash income
16%
19%*
25%*
24%
17%*
16%
8%*
6%
52%
61%*
*significantly different on χ2 (p=0.001)
5