Browsing by Author "Kwame de-GRAFT, Agyei (Rev)"

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Religion in African Politics and Governance: The Ghanaian Experience: A Quest for Relevant Interface.
    (August, 2010) Kwame de-GRAFT, Agyei (Rev)
    The relationship between religion and politics in Africa has been approached from a multiplicity of angles. There is a common view that seeks to separate religion from politics. Those who hold these views insist that there is an irreconcilable gulf between religion and the state, the sacred and the secular. They argue that the church has jurisdiction over spiritual matters, while the state has jurisdiction over secular affairs. This Thesis has built upon the available reflections on politics and religion and also examined the interface between religious and political discourses in Africa with particular reference to Ghana. The thesis has established that religion and politics have and continue to influence and interconnect each other in ways that call for rethinking of the traditional formulations that religion must not mix with politics. We have stated that God as Creator and Ruler has instituted political principles. The difference between God‘s rule and human rule notwithstanding, God has instituted authority to oversee justice and rule of law. We have indicated that religious faiths, especially, the Church (Christianity) is expected to intervene in politics with its message of prophecy, justice, peace and righteousness, to challenge social ills and call political leaders to face up to their own failures and those of their Governments. The thesis concludes that religion has played a significant role in the provision of development projects which have improved the material welfare of the people. Religious Organisations have in this way become a source of identity to the poor in the community‘s grassroots, who are in most cases not accessed by the state‘s bureaucratic approaches to development. Politicians must therefore as a matter of policy collaborate with religious organisations not only to foster peace and stability but speed up the socio-economic and spiritual development of the people.