Ghana's Spiritual Revolution; Exploring the Dynamics Behind Revival
Something wonderful is happening in Ghana. While Christianity's influence is waning elsewhere, a majority of Ghanaians are embracing the faith and making it a central part of their lives.
The observation is backed by data. Christianity has overshadowed other forms of religion all throughout the country's history. Today, Christians of various denominations make up 71.2 percent of the nation's 26 million people. Every corner in Ghana has a church.
Ghana's situation is reflective of what's happening to the rest of Africa where 41 percent of the world's 560 million Protestants live. The figure could rise to 53 percent percent by 2050, according to the forecast of International Bulletin of Mission Research.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
But this phenomenon has long been observed. As early as the middle of the 20th century, scholars predicted that Africa and Latin America are going to be hotbeds of Christianity. "What happens in the minds of African Christians was going to shape church history for many years to come," said Rev. Prof. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu.
He explained that Ghanaians are receptive to Christianity, being compatible with their culture. They can relate to it due to their traditional belief of imploring the spirits to solve their problems. It also appealed to their social aspirations. "Pentecostal religion promises breakthroughs. You tithe, you pray and you will get (what you want)," Asamoah-Gyadu said.
The Economist suggested a connection between religious devotion and concentration of wealth. It said that the more affluent a country is, the less frequent its citizens attend church, citing Western Europe where 1,900 places of worship of the Church of England closed.
"Holding other factors constant, the odds that an individual will attend church are 15 percentage points higher in the world's 29 most unequal countries than they are in the most equal ones. And people on the lower rungs of their own country's economic ladder tend to be more observant than those at the top," the article said. Such is the case of Ghana.
