African Pilgrimage Ritual Travel in South Africa's Christianity of Zion

Years after the end of Apartheid South Africa remains racially polarized and socially divided. In this context pilgrimage and travelling rituals serve to help those who often find themselves at the bottom end of the social ladder to make sense of their world. This book describes a South Africa that is made up of a number of different fragmented worlds. The focus is on the Zion Christian Church, one of the largest religious movements in southern Africa, and a good example of indigenized African Christianity. Pilgrimage plays an important role in reintegrating some of those fragmented worlds into something approaching wholeness. This book tells the story of how the enduring ritual of pilgrimage is transforming African religion, along with the lives of ordinary South Africans.

Retief Müller has a PhD in History and Ecumenics from Princeton Theological Seminary. Born and raised in South Africa, he currently lives in Daegu, South Korea. He is assistant professor in humanities at Keimyung University. His research interests and publications include issues relating to migration and pilgrimage, rain and environmental rituals, race and ethnicity, cross-cultural studies, globalisation theory, and the contemporary contexts of World Christianity.