The Ga Dangme Council of Wulomei in the Greater Accra Region have called for peaceful co-existence between the various religions to ensure total peace in the country.

They said people of various religious persuasions have co-existed peacefully since time immemorial and found it very worrying, the current religious intolerance that had “reared its ugly head.”

The Council made the call in a communique signed by Numo Blafo Akotia Omaetu III, the President of the Council and the Public Relation Officer of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly and copied to the Ghana News Agency.

The communique noted that conflicts destruct the communal bonds that held the people together, and that, it is the vulnerable, like women, children and the aged as well as innocent citizens who suffer undeservedly.

“The truth is that, adherents of different religions can be found in one family and in some cases residing in the same house. These people are bonded more by the blood relation they have and sometimes come together to do things in common,” it said.

The Ga Dangme Wulomei said evidence abound in Christians and Muslims and others coming together to celebrate the Homowo, Eid-ul Fitr, Easter and Christmas festivals in the country.

“It is only with sadness and abject helplessness that we have all looked on while the values holding us together as a people are eroding gradually,” adding that “this country is not only populated by only Christians and Muslims and that whatever happens between them will affect others and beyond,” the communique noted.

The Council cited an example in Britain on September 2014, published by “Awake” that 79 per cent of the people held the view that “religion is a cause of much misery and conflict in the world today.

They expressed the need for all stakeholders to participate in discussions on religious tolerance regarding the current happenings around the world to address the issue, devoid of cynicism but with open minds and hearts to heal any psychological, physical and emotional stress.

The Ga Dangme Wulomei said: “It is our fervent prayer that the Almighty God will not allow this country to join the League of Nations experiencing these conflicts.”

The 18-point communique also called on the government to put in place adequate measures to address religious tolerance in the country, which is attempting to dislodge the peaceful nation from its foundation.