Religion is one of the key concepts that shapes human thought patterns and helps to shape perspectives for societies. It has so many times influenced mankind, led to many discoveries and conquests, and also uplifted the hearts of billions of people around the world.

In Ghana, religion is one of the key drivers of state policies, concepts, laws, constitutional composition, and some other cultural and economic pursuits.
Religion is one of the plagues in Ghana today. People don't critique some beliefs; they just accept them because they got the teaching from their perceived holy or sent messengers.

In Ghana today, religious leaders are semi-gods. They are now the drivers of the thoughts of millions of people and can twist narratives at any given time, and their cult-like followers don't have problems with them, even if they may be making false claims. We are now having a colossal movement of people from one place to another for the sake of seeking salvation, sometimes at their own economic cost and detriment.

Ghanaian politicians have understood these and are dining with these religious leaders to be able to garner votes from their faithful. Their faithful most often adhere to political instructions given without critiquing them. We have a religiously driven voting pattern because we tend to see people believe that if a presumed believer or fellow faith member is in the seat of government, things will be better for us, and it is the opposite. Ghana is a very religious country. This situation has led to our population being driven not by science and technology but by religious beliefs; many of them cannot stand the test of science.

We have more worship centers in Ghana than schools across the country. We have people building mighty edifices while their neighborhoods lack good learning facilities; even schools in their hometowns are abandoned, and if you ask them, they blame governments. We tend to be more interested in religious migrations for pilgrims than in advancing the younger generation for better learning and scholarships, which has the propensity to yield more fruits in the long run.

We have more religious societies, yet we have more corrupt governments compared to any country around the world. We still have some people in Ghana who are not secular. This means people of dissenting religious views are sidelined, and new ideologies are imposed on them against their will.

Religion has brought many crises in Ghana and Africa as a whole. It has separated many families and societies and brought struggles and dominance. Some fanatics have used it to preach hate, and this has led to a lack of mistrust among their people. Although it has some positive aspects looking at what is happening in Ghana today, it has done more harm to her multicultural society and has led to some sense of supremacy by some people who claim to be holier than thou. Many have claimed to be saved, while others have been condemned because they feel their own faith is the all-and-all and best source of inspiration.
enlightenment.

In Ghana, it is 99.999% impossible for you to win the election if you are an atheist and you profess it publicly, even if you are the most qualified based on your track record. Religion and its adherence are very visible in everyday life in Ghana. Our secularity is more practical in accepting other religions and does not create much room for non-believers in the existence of God.

Do you think Ghana would be better if there was no religion?