ABSTRACT
In view of widespread religious-inspired social and political homophobia in Africa, an important question concerns the role of African literature and the African literary writer in addressing the current climate of marginalisation, exclusion, and discrimination of gay and lesbian people in African societies. Michael Foucault's conceptualisation of sexuality in terms of power relations provides a theoretical angle from which this study understands public religion and issues of homosexuality in Zimbabwean literature. The pastorss sermon, although brief, rightly depicts the homosexuality-Christianity deliberation. The pastors reference to the sterility of homosexual activities points to how religion tries to explain the norm through biological constructs. From the above analysis of representations of homosexuality and religion in contemporary Zimbabwean literature it appears that Christianity is represented as fundamentally antagonistic towards homosexuality. Interestingly, the analysis further shows that Shona traditional religion is represented as being more ambivalent towards homosexuality.
