Civil partnerships in Zimbabwe: The church’s response

Abstract

Zimbabwe’s Marriages Act harmonises previously fragmented legal systems governing different marriages into a single-statute framework. This codification improves legal certainty and facilitates practical engagement for family law practitioners and litigants alike. Going beyond simple harmonisation of existing marital classifications, the Act introduces civil partnerships as a unique legal marital category. The religious approval of this legislation by the Zimbabwean churches remains contested, reflecting a range of doctrinal views across different denominations. In Zimbabwe’s predominantly Christian society, supported by constitutional guarantees of religious freedom, the positions of church organisations merit careful consideration. Churches advocating for monogamous marriage, mainly Mainline Protestant and Pentecostal groups, view civil partnerships as morally questionable. Conversely, the White Garment Apostolic churches adopt a different theological stance that accommodates polygamous marriage practices. It is concluded that forbidding civil partnerships for individuals already in monogamous civil unions would help maintain a clear divide between monogamous relationships and polygamous arrangements. Further, the article suggests revising the Marriages Act to include only unregistered civil marriages within the scope of civil partnerships. A document-based qualitative research methodology was used.
Contribution: This article offers a discussion of civil partnerships under Zimbabwean marriage law. It further expounds on the divergent church views on civil partnerships and ultimately proposes a legal reform that reframes the provisions on civil partnerships, offering them a meaning that brings harmony to different marriage beliefs in the Zimbabwean church community.