Shona Traditional Religion, Cultural Beliefs, Gender, and Sustainable Development in Zimbabwe

Generally, culture sustains or embodies religious beliefs as it has the role of implementing such beliefs. Culture is a learned behaviour that influences how people perceive and interpret the world around them. Such learned behaviour is passed from one generation to another. Religious belief is complemented by culture in the traditional Shona conception of life, though generally religious beliefs can be stronger than other cultural considerations. Religious belief, like culture, has a profound claim over a person or rather believer’s life which might encompass political domain, health, social, economic, and education to name but a few. Therefore, it could be uncontested that religion shapes people’s identity and their capacity or lack of it to operate in a given environment. This chapter, therefore, seeks to answer but is not limited to the following question: How do Shona’s traditional religion and culture intersect gender and sustainable development?