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A former General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG), Rev Dr Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong, has urged relevant bodies and stakeholders to explore ways to curb excesses in the religious space.
He made the call while contributing to discussions on Easter, religion, chieftaincy, and politics, on GHOne TV on April, 21, 2025.
“There’s something about religion that, in fact, in this country, we must be worried about. There are churches in Ghana but it is not only in Christianity – you can use religion to manipulate people,” he said.
He cited socio-economic factors as the main driver of the trend that has led to exploitation in many forms.
“When people are in need – whether it is marriage, child birth, poverty, unemployment, they are prepared to do anything to get out of trouble. Because religion inspires hope, it has become one area where people who are in crisis turn to for solutions. So, at that point, religion makes sense to them because of the hope factor. I think that is where our challenge comes from.
“We have a society that is exposed to socio-economic challenges and because people are looking for solutions, they turn to religion. I hear people preaching on radio stations and on TV saying ‘I can pray for you so that you can have x, y, z …’,” he explained.
Rev Dr Opuni-Frimpong, regardless, cautioned against an outright condemnation of religious organisations highlighting its impact in the areas of education and health.
He emphasised how religious denominations have contributed in the area of infrastructure in the educational sector.
He, however, called on the relevant stakeholders to explore ways to sanitise the religious space.
“We must be careful how we approach this as the church has served our country well in the area of quality education delivery. As at now, all the best high schools were all set up by the church…
“When we talk about health, the only hospital in Bawku enclave is a Presbyterian hospital. Agogo Presbyterian Hospital, TI Ahmadiyya Senior High School are all notable institutions set up by the church. So, though, there are excesses, let’s look at the brighter side of things and find a way of correcting the wrong. We must protect the good things we have been able to build over the years,” he said.
