As narrated by Prof. Kwasi Yirenkyi, The role of Christian churches in national politics in Ghana. It draws on various forms of data: a 1994 survey questionnaire, in-depth interviews, and content analysis of existing data.
A total of 355 responses were received on the survey while 110 people were interviewed on a variety of church and political issues. Respondents were drawn from Catholic and Protestants denominational backgrounds.
The preliminary results of the study lend support to the view that since the 1980’s, Ghanaian Christians have been more actively involved in politics than ever before. These findings have important implications for the role religion plays in political development in Ghana.
In the absence of viable structures of justice in many African countries that are struggling to evolve new democratic systems, the church claims to speak for the silent majority. It also calls on its adherents to participate in the political process to help create just social structures. A review of the literature on the religion and politics in Ghana reveals that, since the 1980s, the church has taken a more activist role in national politics than at any other time in it’s history.
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Much of the church’s political activity was initiated collectively under the umbrella of the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG) and Ghana Bishops.
According to Prof. Kwasi Yirenkyi The church in this article refers to the Roman Catholic and Protestant denominations. The latter include mainline, charismatic and/or independent Africa churches. Christians constitute 62.6% of Ghana’s population estimated to be about 17 million. Other religious include Islam (15.7%) and African Traditional Religion (21.4%). Muslims and adherents of traditional religion actively involved in Ghanaian politics. However this study is limited to Christian participation in politics.
