Constitutional and Governance Frameworks and Institutional Gaps Associated with Intra-Church Conflicts: In Tanzanian Protestant Churches

This study examines the constitutional and governance frameworks that shape the electoral processes of Protestant churches in Tanzania and identifies the institutional gaps that fuel intra-church conflict. A pragmatist, qualitatively dominant concurrent mixed-methods design (QUAL + quan) was employed, integrating in-depth key-informant interviews (n = 8) analysed using NVivo with a cross-sectional survey (n = 171) analysed via PLS-SEM. Qualitative evidence reveals pervasive constitutional decoupling characterised by constitutional dualism, stalled functional differentiation, and constitutional fossilisation. Quantitative findings confirm that institutional gaps are the primary structural driver of conflict dynamics (β = +0.468, t = 8.211, p < 0.001), whereas robust constitutional frameworks significantly suppress conflict (β = -0.342, t = 5.607, p < 0.001). The structural model explained 73.8% of the variance in conflict dynamics (R² = 0.738). The study concludes that intra-church conflict is structural rather than interpersonal and proposes a three-pillar reform agenda: independent electoral commissions, constitutional modernisation and binding grievance-adjudication mechanisms.