Religion (mainly Christianity) is a big part of Ghana. As someone from Indonesia, which is a Muslim country and on some levels can be quite similar to how religious Ghana is (writings on the public transports and we have religious TV shows), but I was still quite surprised by how it is such a big part of the country. To show this; two days after we went to Republic Bar, we were scheduled to went to a church! The church we went to was massive and people were dressed up to the nines. It gives you the feel of going to see a gig, especially with the lighting, the stage at the front and five singers singing harmoniously, accompanied by a live band. People are also very open about religious their beliefs here. For example, one of the first questions I was asked by our supervisor and colleague in my placement was what my religion is.
Even as you drive along the roads of Ghana, you’ll see a lot of billboards advertising religious events, public transports with religious remarks on them and even at a random shop, like the top right picture that I took in a cellphone carrier shop, they broadcast their belief. Second, the top left picture I took in a clinic of an orphanage called Village of Hope. It was a Christian organisation that took care of 250 children in a village, which has its own school, clinic and naturally, households. Not only the passage from the Bible, the symbol painted in brown at the top right section of the picture is a symbol you can find everywhere (even on regular plastic chairs) means “the almighty God,” based on what one of the buddies (local student from LU Ghana) told us. Lastly, the bottom picture is of a play that we saw the Sunday we went to church. The play told a classic religious story of how Jesus can drive evil spirits away. The photo shows the ending where they sing a song of praise after the couple (protagonists) believe in Jesus. Most of the audience are very interactive with the play, shouts of “Amen” were heard throughout the play. It’s quite different from what I see in the UK, but it’s a part of the Ghana experience.
Unfortunately, even though the topic of religion is very common, some people don’t have much understanding about other religions, for example, Islam. Islam is actually the second most common religion in Ghana, but some people are so unfamiliar with it, they make random assumptions based on what they see on the news from outside of Ghana. However, despite of their level of understanding of the different religions, Ghana is a very peaceful country where people can worship God in their own ways side by side without any conflict whatsoever (which is something they are and should be very proud of). Another misconception that is quite common here based on the visits we have to different clinics is regarding witchcraft and “bad spirit.” Some people believe by getting rid of the bad spirit, they can be healed, so they go to traditional healers instead of medical professionals.
I’m glad that I got to experience this side of Ghana; seeing more than meets the eyes. It gives an authentic experience of a country, which is exclusive for each person.
