that would be the initial breeding grounds for nationalist sentiments, and it was this fervour that crept over the denominational lines through informal contacts and into the more politically powerful mainline churches. The imposition of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in 1953 brought some of these issues to a head. In Zambia it was felt that the Federation exacerbate the issues of racial inequality and economically favoured Zimbabwe over Zambia and Malawi. The Christian Council of Northern Rhodesia, that had replaced the General Missionary Conference in 1944, stated its position clearly when it wrote: "Under normal circumstances the Church is bound to support the State and the forces aimed as preserving law and order, but this obligation is qualified by the Church's higher loyalty to the law of God. Where the State is misusing its Stewardship of power; where it is not adequately fulfilling its function of protecting the God-given freedom of all its citizens; where it is favouring one section of the community to the detriment of the others, then a Christian is called to protest ad to take whatever action is compatible with the Christian Gospel." The imposition of the Federation was a response by Britain to shore up an empire it could no longer maintain after the war. In its attempts to preserve its power the colonial government alienated the churches as some of the most powerful civil society groups in the nation, prompting open opposition to its policies. It would not be long before this rift allied with an educated Zambian elite would bring about calls for Zambian independence. It was a lesson that would not be lost on future governments. Independence The drive for an independent Zambia found a secure home in the churches. "The Christian Church… formed a crucial part of the associational landscape in many Sub-Saharan countries, consisting not only of a forum for spiritual communication but also a sanctuary for secular resistance." Phiri noted that "the mission centres provided a place where the contradictions between Christianity and the politics of racism and colonialism could be discussed in relative freedom… The effect of this was that the anti-colonial struggle in Zambia was clearly driven by Christian beliefs and packaged in Christian social action." The Lumpa Church was established in 1954 by Alice Lenshina, from a village near Lubwa Mission in Chinsali District of Northern Province of Zambia. It quickly spread to the