Abstract
Religious tourism is considered as one of the earliest forms of tourism and has been evaluated to be on the increase as various religions spread or are being conceived throughout the world. It emanates from one’s belief in their existence and germinates from the various reasons like paying homage sacred places or historical sites, increasing one’s spiritual weight, seeking answers, congregational attendance and annual events. In all this process, there exist a functional generation of tourism income as destinations benefit monetarily from travelling individuals.
Evidence of religious tourism is apparent around the world in prominent religious destinations such as Mecca, Bodhgaya, the Vatican City, Karbala, Jerusalem and Istanbul, among others. Despite the majority of religions connecting to one specific region or place, the Southern African religion is a center of religious activities of many Independent African (Apostolic) Churches with South Africa, Johannesburg being an important African center of Christian religious pilgrimage.
Despite the growth of Independent African Churches (IACs) and their contribution to religious tourism travel in Southern Africa, the phenomenon is not well understood and remains under the radar for researchers and policymakers. Many of these IACs have emerged as a result of political turmoil and economic instability in African countries such as Zimbabwe, Namibia, Ethiopia, Nigeria, The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Malawi. This unrest has led to considerable migration within the continent. For example, in Africa, the volume of international migrants in 2019 alone is estimated at 21 million of whom 4 million were hosted in South Africa (International Organisation for Migration, IOM, 2020). The majority of these migrants settle in Johannesburg, which houses the biggest population of Zimbabwean refugees and immigrants, estimated to be 2 million people. This movement of people has led to the diversification of religious practices, and as a result, a vibrant religious tourism industry has emerged.
However, throughout the early months of 2020, rising incidents of COVID-19 around the world led to an increasing concern throughout the tourism industry (UNWTO, 2020; WHO, 2020), especially concerning religious tourism activities. In many situations, lockdown regulations such as restricted mobility and social distancing temporarily closed down all religious tourism. Thus, this research study explores the impact of
iv
COVID-19 on religious tourism activities (religious worship, events and pilgrimage) of Independent African Churches (IACs) in Johannesburg, South Africa. To elaborate on this, the study provides a comparative analysis of pre-pandemic and lockdown religious activities of four prominent IACs in South Africa: The Apostolic Church of Johane Marange; The Apostolic Church of Johane Masowe; The Mugodhi Apostolic Faith Church and The Zion Christian Church (ZCC), Zimbabwe (Mutendi) through investigating their initial responses to the COVID-19 lockdown measures. The study explores and gives an overview of how religious tourism activities in these churches changed over the pandemic period with the subsequent cancellation of the most celebrated annual festival, the Passover. It also looks at how their activities have changed with the easing of lockdown restrictions. Lastly, the paper presents the future intentions and plans of IACs post-COVID-19 which informs the future of religious travel in IACs. Results of the study will add to a better understanding of religious tourism activities in the African context and contribute towards policy making in the Southern African region.
This study is based on an interpretivist research paradigm and employs a qualitative longitudinal phenomenological research design. The study made use of in-depth semi-structured telephonic interviews (fifteen in the first phase of the study and sixteen in the third phase), an online survey with fifty-seven participants in the second phase and one night of participant observation at a local ZCC Mutendi church service in the third phase of the study. The research framework comprised a non-probability, convenience sampling method. The research was carried out over three years 2020-2022.
The findings of the study reveal that religious tourism activities in IACs were equally affected by COVID-19 even though they are a smaller part of the larger religious tourism community. Religious gatherings and festivals were canceled in adherence to social distancing measures. Other religious activities such as caring for the needy and praying for the sick were also affected. Initial responses to lockdown measures were coupled with compliance and defiance at the same time. To a lesser extent adaptation to technological changes such as virtual worship was noted with all other religious tourism activities already back to normal or expected to return to normal after the COVID-19 pandemic. The larger part of the population shows full intentions for future religious travel.