Covenantal Pluralism in Multi-Religious Mozambique: Precedents, Problems, and Potentials

This article explores possibilities for implementing the project of covenantal pluralism in Mozambique. It starts by analyzing the history of the construction of the modern state in Mozambique and the contradictions of colonial and post-colonial interventions regarding the ideas and practices of secularism. The chapter argues that Mozambican society is modeled on a culturally, religiously, and linguistically diverse milieu that represents a potential resource for conceptualizing covenantal pluralism. However, the encounters with Christianity and Islam, both of them preaching the universality of their beliefs, combined with ongoing struggles for power and resources, have created several challenges for the establishment of a covenantal pluralism.