Christianity is the largest religion in Ghana, with 71.3% of the population belonging to various Christian denominations as of 2021 census. Islam is practised by 19.9% of the total population. According to a report by the Pew Research, 51% of Muslims are followers of Sunni Islam, 16% belong to the Ahmadiyya movement, around 8% identify with Shia Islam, while the remainder are non-denominational Muslims.Owusu-Ansah (1994), "Religion and Society". Traditional religions such as the Akan Traditional Religion and Dagbon Traditional Religion are indigenous. Islam was the first Abrahamic religion to be introduced in the country between the tenth and 15th centuries, by Muslim traders. Later, Christianity was introduced via contact with the European missionaries. Christianity is mainly in the country's south while Islam is based in the north. Islam gained widespread acceptance in northern Ghana after Yaa Naa Zanjina accepted the faith in the 17th century.
Ghana is a secular state and the country's constitution guarantees freedom of religion and worship. Christmas, Easter, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha are recognised as national holidays.
Overview
The largest Christian affiliations in the 2021 census were Pentecostal/charismatic (31.6% of the population) and Protestant (17.4%). According to a report by the Pew Research, 51% of Muslims are followers of Sunni Islam, approximately 16% belong to the Ahmadiyya movement and around 8% identify with Shia Islam, while the remainder are non-denominational Muslims.Owusu-Ansah (1994), "Religion and Society".
Christian celebrations of Christmas and Easter are recognised as national holidays. In the past, vacation periods have been planned around these occasions, thus permitting both Christians and others living away from home to visit friends and family in the rural areas. Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting, is observed by Muslims and traditional occasions are celebrated. These festivals include the Adae, which occur fortnightly, and the annual Odwira festivals. There is the annual Apoo festival activities, which is a kind of Mardi Gras and is held in towns.
There is "no significant link between ethnicity and religion in Ghana" in 2022.
In 2020, 60% of Ghanaians were Pentecostal and Evangelical.
Statistics + Religious affiliation on census Christian Muslim Traditional Other Noreligion Total Pentecostal/charismatic Other Protestant Catholic OtherChristian 2000 2010 2021
Christianity
The presence of Christian missionaries on the coast has been dated to the arrival of the Portuguese in the fifteenth century. It was the Basel/Presbyterian and Wesleyan/Methodist missionaries, who, in the nineteenth century, laid the foundation for the Christian church in Ghana. They began their conversions in the coastal area as "nurseries of the church" in which an educated African class was trained. There are secondary schools, including exclusively boys and girls schools, that are mission- or church-related institutions. Church schools have been opened to all since the state assumed financial responsibility for formal instruction under the Education Act of 1960.Owusu-Ansah (1994), "Christianity and Islam in Ghana".
Christian denominations are represented, including Evangelical Presbyterian and Catholicism. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), in addition to chapels, has a temple in Accra. A second temple has been announced for the city of Kumasi.
The unifying organization of Christians in the country is the Ghana Christian Council, founded in 1929. Representing the Methodist, Anglican, Mennonite, Presbyterian, Evangelical Presbyterian, African Methodist Episcopal Zionist, Methodist Church Ghana, Evangelical Lutheran, and Baptist churches, and the Society of Friends, the council serves as the link with the World Council of Churches and other ecumenical bodies. The Seventh-day Adventist Church, which is not a member of the Christian Council, has a presence also. The Church opened the premier private and Christian University.
The National Catholic Secretariat, established in 1960, coordinates the in-country dioceses. These Christian organizations, concerned primarily with the spiritual affairs of their congregations, have occasionally acted in circumstances described by the government as political. Such was the case in 1991 when both the Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Christian Council of Ghana called on the military government of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) to return the country to constitutional rule. The Roman Catholic newspaper, The Standard, was critical of government policies.Hans Werner Debrunner, A history of Christianity in Ghana (Waterville Pub. House, 1967).
A 2015 study estimated that there are 50,000 Christians from a Muslim background in the country, though not all of them are necessarily citizens.
A phenomenon among Christians is the end-of-year prophecies by religious leaders. Followers are keen to hear what the coming year holds. Some of these prophecies centre on the death of a person or the result of keenly contested national elections.
Orange Order The Grand Orange Lodge of Ghana governs the Orange Order in Ghana, a Protestant Christian fraternity, whose beliefs are based on the Reformation Principles and the truths contained in the Open Bible. The Order's influence on Christianity is primarily seen in its function as a Protestant friendly society that supports its members and the broader community. The organization, which was once predominately white, began admitting Ghanaian locals, leading to its full integration. It is currently the most active Orange community in Africa. In its current state, the fraternity has created a network of like-minded individuals who share a common faith. The Ghanaian Order completes charitable work and promotes positive evangelicalism. The organization's music, regalia, and marching traditions have been adopted by the local culture, giving them a unique Ghanaian character.
Syncretic religion
The rise of Apostolic or Pentecostal churches across the nation partly demonstrates the impact of social change and the eclectic nature of traditional cultures. Some establishments have drum societies and singing groups and the independent African and Pentecostal churches reflected in figures for membership that rose from 1 and 2 percent, respectively, in 1960, to 14 and 8 percent, respectively, according to a 1985 estimate.Owusu-Ansah (1994), "Traditional Religion".
Islam
Islam made its entry into the northern territories of modern Ghana around the fifteenth century. Berber traders and clerics carried the religion into the area. Most Muslims in Ghana are Sunni, following the Maliki school of jurisprudence.Chapter 1: Religious Affiliation retrieved 4 September 2013
Those following the Maliki version of Islamic law and Sufism, involving the organization of mystical brotherhoods (tariq) for the purification and spread of Islam, is "not widespread". The Tijaniyah and the Qadiriyah brotherhoods are represented. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, a religion originating in nineteenth-century India, is the only non-Sunni order.
Guided by the authority of the Muslim Representative Council, religious, social, and economic matters affecting Muslims have been redressed through negotiations. The Muslim Council has been responsible for arranging pilgrimages to Mecca for believers who can afford the journey. There remains a gap between Muslims and Christians in Ghana. As society in Ghana modernized, Muslims were blocked from taking part in the modernization process. This is largely because access to jobs required Western education, and this education was only available in missionary schools. Many Muslims feared that sending their children to missionary schools may result in religious conversion.Holger Weiss (2004), "Variations in the Colonial Representation of Islam and Muslims in Northern Ghana, ca. 1900-1930".
Traditional religion Traditional religions in Ghana have retained their influence because of their intimate relation to family loyalties and local mores. The traditional cosmology expresses belief in a supreme being referred as [Nyogmo - Ga, Mawu - Dangme and Ewe, Nyame -Akan] and the supreme being is usually thought of as remote from daily religious life and is, therefore, not directly worshipped.Max Assimeng, "Traditional religion in Ghana: a preliminary guide to research." Thought and Practice Journal: The Journal of the Philosophical Association of Kenya 3.1 (1976): 65-89.
There are also the lesser gods that take "residency" in streams, rivers, trees, and mountains. These gods are generally perceived as intermediaries between the supreme being and society. Ancestors and numerous other spirits are also recognized as part of the cosmological order. The spirit world is considered to be as real as the world of the living. The dual worlds of the mundane and the sacred are linked by a network of mutual relationships and responsibilities. The action of the living, for example, can affect the gods or spirits of the departed, while the support of family ancestors ensures prosperity of the lineage or state.
Veneration of departed ancestors is a major characteristic of all traditional religions. The ancestors are believed to be the most immediate link with the spiritual world, and they are thought to be constantly near, observing every thought and action of the living. To ensure that a natural balance is maintained between the world of the sacred and that of the profane, the roles of the family elders in relation to the lineage within society are crucial. The religious functions, especially lineage heads, are clearly demonstrated during such periods as the Odwira, Homowo, or the Aboakyir festivals, that are organized in activities that renew and strengthen relations with ancestors.
Witchcraft
Popular religions in Ghana such as Christianity and Islam coexist with the beliefs of spirits, evil, and witchcraft illustrated in traditional beliefs. There is an intersection of religion brought through colonization and existing precolonial beliefs related to witchcraft. In predominantly Christian communities, it is common to find articles and news on what "good" Christians can do to fight evil forces of witchcraft.
The topic of witchcraft is often brought up in songs, and is present in the music culture in Ghana. Hearing about the topic through music adds to its broader relevance in its culture. Sung in Akan, the dominant non-English language in Ghana, popular songs reference witchcraft as explanation for things such as infertility, alcoholism, and death. Details of witch beliefs and the nocturnal lives of witches are depicted in letters and local newspapers across Ghana. Witchcraft accusations are commonly seen through various forms of media including television, newspaper, and magazines.
There are at least six witch camps in Ghana, housing a total of approximately 1,000 women. Women suspected of being witches sometimes flee to witch camp settlements for safety, often in order to avoid being lynched by neighbours.
Rastafarian religion The Rastafari movement is a movement that arose in Jamaica in the 1930s. Its adherents worship Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia (1930–1974), as God incarnate, the Second Advent, or the reincarnation of Jesus. According to beliefs, Haile Selassie was the 225th in an unbroken line of Ethiopian monarchs of the Solomonic Dynasty. This dynasty is said to have been founded in the 10th century BC by Menelik I, the son of the Biblical King Solomon and Makeda, the Queen of Sheba, who had visited Solomon in Israel.