Postcolonial Trends Of Decolonising The Religious Education Curriculum In Zimbabwe And South Africa

The colonial system in southern Africa invested in Religious Education (RE) for a long time that post-independent governments took long to change the curriculum. Struggles in South Africa like #FeesMustFall, #RhodesMustFall and #TollFeesMustFall are indications of an overdue conversation. How can RE curricula change respond to this situation because Christianity dominates the sub-region since the missionary-times, Islam is the biggest assertive minority religion, and both demonise Indigenous African Religions (IARs)? Christianity was critical for the success of colonialism in Zimbabwe and South Africa, and must respond to epistemic violence through institutional reframing, rethinking and reconstruction to meet contemporary demands (Ndlovu-Gatsheni, 2018). Post-independent curricula have been willing to incorporate developing contexts, but planners, who are products of the colonial system, duplicated it from their past. Decolonising the RE curriculum requires a renewed will and affection to deal, radically and accountably, with colonial statues that continuously obstruct academic freedom