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Zambia's Catholic schools and secularization

Introduction Today, in Zambia as in many parts of Africa, the Catholic Church continues its commitment to secular schooling, that is, the teaching and learning of academic subjects that are not explicitly religious, such as English, Maths, Geography etc. It operates a number of quality third-level institutions, grant-aided and private secondary and primary schools. Inevitably, Catholic authorities sometimes criticize, and are criticized for, the heavy investment of personnel and money in this nondirectly religious aspect of the Church’s life. Thus some would advocate withdrawal from such secular activity in the interest of more directly religious missions. The article that follows will explore the origins and development of the Catholic Church’s involvement in Zambian secular schooling. In doing so, it will illustrate that, while at the primary level governments’ secularization process led to the handover of these schools, somewhat ironically, at the secondary level, it helped to mould a more ecumenical type of Catholic school which, while still evolving, is so much needed in a nation where for so long religion has divided rather than united. In this context secularization will be taken to mean the total or partial takeover of the control of Catholic institutions by the state.