Abstract
Several countries in Africa are perpetually linked to an inexpungable history of cyclical ethnic conflicts, violence and coup d’état which culminated in the untimely death of many, others severely wounded and many left in a hopeless situation. The paper discusses in-depth, the role and functions of the clergy (ministers of religion) in the political health development in Ghana. The rationale is that the clergy’s esteemed status among the church members and the society as a whole could impact positively on the lives of the people in the society, and for that matter, they are expected to speak to national issues. Twenty-one clergy participated in one-on-one in-depth interviews for this study. It was found out that a number of the ministers of religion were not interested in political health development issues, and therefore, their roles in politics were woefully inadequate. It is recommended that the clergy boldly take up their leadership responsibilities and provide a framework for collaboration and reconciliation in the peace‐building process and also be models of a peaceful disposition. The clergy are to continue to pray fervently, advise politicians and educate their church members for a sound political health development in Ghana.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abdulai, A., & Hickey, S. (2014). Rethinking the politics of development in Africa? How the ‘political settlement’ shapes resource allocation in Ghana. Effective States and Inclusive Development Research Centre (ESID) Working Paper No. 38. ISBN: 978-1-908749-38-3.
Abdulai, A. -G., & Hulme, D. (2014) The politics of regional inequality in Ghana: State elites, donors and PRSPs. Effective States and Inclusive Development (ESID), Working Paper No. xx. Manchester, UK: University of Manchester.
Ake, C. (1975). Modernization and political stability: A theoretical exploration. World Politics, 26, 579–591.
Akrong, A. A. (2000). A Neo-witchcraft mentality in popular Christianity. A Research Review, 14(2), 5–15.
Alesina, A., Özler, S., & Roubini, N. (1996). Political instability and economic growth. Journal of Economic Growth, 1(2), 189–211. doi:10.1007/BF00138862.
Amanor, K. J. D. (2009). Pentecostal and charismatic churches in Ghana and the African Culture: Confrontation or compromise?. Journal of Pentecostal Theology, 18, 123–140.
Anderson, A. H. (2000). Evangelism and the growth of pentecostalism in Africa. In Paper presented at the center for missiology and world Christianity, University of Birmingham.
Ankrah, E. T. (2016). “Religion should not mix with politics”: Reflections on the prophetic voice of the clergy in Ghana on Nation-Building. Journal of Religious and Theological Studies 2(1).
Asamoah, M. K. (2004). The role and function of the holy spirit in the day-to-day life of the charismatic believer. (The case of the Word Miracle Church (Perez Chapel). M. Phil. Thesis Submitted to the University of Cape Coast, Ghana.
Asamoah, M. K. (2016). Leveraging the deliverance phenomenon: Penteco/charismatic vista. Journal of Religion and Health, 55(5), 1642–1664. doi:10.1007/s10943-016-0209-8.
Asamoah-Gyadu, K. J. (1998). The church in the African state: The pentecostal/charismatic experience in Ghana. Journal of African Christian Thought, 1(2), 51–57.
Ayee, J. R. A. (2008). The balance sheet of decentralization in Ghana. In Saito F (ed.) Foundations for local governance: Decentralization in comparative perspective. Leipzig: Springer. ISBN 978-3-7908-2005-8. http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/2667.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. doi:10.1191/1478088706qp063oa.
Brigid, M., & Sackey, B. D. (2001). Charismatics independence and missions: Church proliferation in Ghana. Culture and Religion: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 2(1), 41–59. doi:10.1080/01438300108567162.
Brown, D. W., & Smidt, C. E. (2003). Media and clergy: Influencing the influential?. Journal of Media and Religion, 2(2), 75–92. doi:10.1207/S15328415JMR0202_02.
Cobbinah, P. R., & Darkwah, R. M. (2016). Urban planning and politics in Ghana. GeoJournal. doi:10.1007/s10708-016-9750-y.
DiCicco-Bloom, B., & Crabtree, B. F. (2006). The qualitative research interview. Medical Education, 40, 314–321. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2929.2006.02418.x.
Dörfler-Dierken, A. (2011). The changing role of protestant military chaplaincy in Germany: From raising military morale to praying for peace. Religion, State and Society, 39(1), 79–91. doi:10.1080/09637494.2011.546506.
Dowding, K., & Kimber, R. (1983). The meaning and the use of political stability. European Journal of Political Research, 11, 229–243.
Flick, U., von Kardoff, E., & Steinke, I. (2004). What is qualitative research? An introduction to the field. In U. Flick, E. von Kardoff, & I. Steinke (Eds.), A companion to qualitative research (pp. 3–11). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Gifford, P. (1998). African christianity: Its public role. London: Hurst.
Gifford, P. (2004). Ghana’s new Christianity. Pentecostalism in globalizing African Economy. Blooming, IN: Indiana University press.
Golafshani, N. (2003). Understanding reliability and validity in qualitative research. Qualitative Report, 8(4), 597–607.
Graham, E., Ackah, I., & Gyampo, R. E. (2016). Politics of oil and gas in Ghana. Insight on Africa. doi:10.1177/0975087816655015.
Gyamfi, S. A., & Yartey, H. T. (2015). The role of the National Commission for civic education in citizenship education during and after elections: A focus on the 2012 Elections in Ghana. International Journal of Social Sciences and Education, 5(4). ISSN: 2223-4934 E and 2227-393X.
Haar, G. (1994). Standing up for Jesus: A survey of new developments in christianity in Ghana. Exchange, 23, 3.
Hickey, S., Abdulai, A., Izama, A., & Mohan. G. (2015). The politics of governing oil effectively: A comparative study of two new oil-rich states in Africa. Effective States and Inclusive Development (ESID) Working Paper series, No. 54.
Kachikwu, M. K. (2004). Diamonds and civil conflicts in Africa—The conflicts in Central Africa and West Africa. Journal of Energy & Natural Resources Law, 22(2), 171–193. doi:10.1080/02646811.2004.11433363.
Kavulla, T. R. (2008). Our enemies are God’s enemies’: The religion and politics of Bishop Margaret Wanjiru, MP. Journal of Eastern African Studies, 2(2), 254–263. doi:10.1080/17531050802058369.
Kay, W. K. (1999). Pre-millennial tensions: What Pentecostal ministers look forward to. Journal of Contemporary Religion, 14(3), 361–373. doi:10.1080/13537909908580875.
Larbi, K. (2001). Pentecostalism: The Eddies of Ghanaian Christianity. Accra: Centre for Pentecostal and Charismatic churches.
Letsie, T. (2015). The role of Christian churches in political conflict in Lesotho. African Security Review., 24(1), 75–88. doi:10.1080/10246029.2014.993669.
Levy, B. (2014). Working with the Grain: Integrating governance and growth in development strategies. New York: Oxford University Press.
Lloyd, R. B. (2010). Conflict in Africa. The Journal of the Middle East and Africa, 1(2), 171–186. doi:10.1080/21520844.2010.502566.
Machado, M. D. C. (2012). Evangelicals and politics in Brazil: The case of Rio de Janeiro. Religion, State and Society, 40(1), 69–91. doi:10.1080/09637494.2012.653137.
Melleuish, P. (2010). Religion and politics in Australia. Political Theology, 11(6), 909–927. doi:10.1558/poth.v11i6.909.
Meyer, B. (1998). The power of money: Politics, occult forces, and pentecostalism in Ghana. African Studies Review, 41(3), 15–37.
Mwaura, P. N., & Martinon, C. M. (2010). Political violence in Kenya and local churches’ responses: The case of the 2007 post-election crisis. The Review of Faith & International Affairs, 8(1), 39–46. doi:10.1080/15570271003707812.
Newton, D. (2007). The clergy, identity and lay society in the Diocese of Durham, 1561–1635. Northern History, 44(1), 35–54. doi:10.1179/174587007X165351.
Ngong, D. (2010). The holy spirit and salvation in African Christian theology. New York, NY: Peter Lang.
Oduro, F., Awal, M., & Ashon, M. A. (2014). A dynamic mapping of the political settlement in Ghana. Working Paper 28 (Manchester: University of Manchester).
Omenyo, C. (2002). Pentecost outside pentecostalism: A study of the charismatic renewal of the mainline churches. Zuid-Holland: uitgeverij Boekencentrum Zoetermeer.
Omenyo, C., & Atiemo, A. O. (2006). Claiming religious space, the case of neo prophetism in Ghana. The Bullentin of Theology, 1, 55–68.
Oosterbaan, M. (2005). Mass mediating the spiritual battle: pentecostal appropriations of mass mediated violence in rio de janeiro. Material Religion: The Journal of Objects, Art and Belief., 1(3), 358–385. doi:10.2752/174322005778054087.
Osafo, J. (2011). Attitude towards suicide- Exploring the cultural meanings of Suicide in Ghana. Doctoral thesis presented to Norwegian University of science and technology for the of doctor of philosophy.
Rein, C. (2015). Enhancing peace and security in Africa through Institutional Cooperation. Contemporary Security Policy, 36(2), 267–295. doi:10.1080/13523260.2015.1061757.
Risjord, M., Moloney, M., & Dunbar, S. (2001). Methodological triangulation in nursing research. Philosophy of the Social Sciences, 31(1), 40–59.
Sheehan, T. (2015). Guiding principles for stabilization and reconstruction. US: Institute for Peace and the U.S. Army Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute.
Smith, J. A., & Osborn, M. (2003). Interpretive phenomenological analysis. In J. A. Smith (Ed.), Qualitative psychlogy: A practical guide to research methods (pp. 51–80). London: Sage.
Tavares, R. (2008). Understanding regional peace and security: A framework for analysis. Contemporary Politics, 14(2), 107–127. doi:10.1080/13569770802176853.
Tietaah, G. K. M. (2013). Negative political advertising and the imperative of broadcast regulation in Ghana. Journal of African Media Studies, 5(2), 203–217.
Urquhart, B. (1993). The United Nations and the future peace. South African Journal of International Affairs, 1(1), 9–16. doi:10.1080/10220469309545088.
Valeriano, B. (2011). Power politics and interstate war in Africa. African Security, 4(3), 195–221. doi:10.1080/19392206.2011.599270.
Williams, P. D. (2014). Reflections on the evolving African PEACE and security architecture. African Security, 7(3), 147–162. doi:10.1080/19392206.2014.939886.
Willig, C. (2001). Introducing qualitative research in psychology—Adventure in theory and method. Philadephia, PA: Open University Press.
Wuaku, A. K. (2012). Selling Krishna in Ghana’s religious market: Proselytising strategies of the Sri Radha Govinda Temple community of Ghana. Journal of Contemporary African Studies, 30(2), 335–357. doi:10.1080/02589001.2012.666392.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
I declare that there is no conflict of interest.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Asamoah, M.K. The Role of the Penteco/Charismatic Clergy in the Political Health Development in Ghana. J Relig Health 56, 1397–1418 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-016-0354-0
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-016-0354-0