Muyambo, TensonTensonMuyambo2025-02-132025-02-132025978-3-98989-042-8https://fis.uni-bamberg.de/handle/uniba/106044This chapter is a reflection of Ezra Chitando’s contributions to the study of religion, gender and masculinities in Africa, particularly from a Zimbabwean perspective. It is a chapter that makes a trajectory survey of some of Chitando’s works that have transformed the phenomenology of religion as promulgated by Edmund Husserl (1859-1938) into applied religion, where religion has been found to be the centre of human existence, which is at the centre of people’s lived realities. To achieve this, I used some of Chitando’s works where he applied religion to address human existential challenges such as masculinities in the context HIV & AIDS, gender and other pandemics such as COVID-19. I also used casual conversations with him on matters of religion and development, health, climate change and through working with him on a number of book projects just to mention a few. Using grounded theology as the lens for this chapter, I argue that Chitando has demonstrated beyond doubt that religion is not an abstract/utopian phenomenon but a concrete entity that works through, with and for people. The chapter concludes that Chitando has successfully engaged religion to find meaning and relevance in African realities, more particularly Zimbabwean realities.engPhenomenology of religionapplied religiondevelopmentmasculinitiespandemicsgrounded theology200bookpart