Christianity in Ghana
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According to the census figures of the year 2000, out of Ghana's 18.8 million people, Christians made up 69 percent of the population of Ghana.[4] The 2010 Population and Housing Census puts the figure at slightly over 71 percent of the total population of over 24 million people. A 2015 study estimated some 50,000 believers in Christ from a Muslim background.[5]
According to the 2021 census, 71.3% of the population belonged to a Christian denomination.[6]
History
The arrival of the
Denominations
Methodism in Ghana
The Methodist Church Ghana came into existence as a result of the missionary activities of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, inaugurated with the arrival of Joseph Rhodes Dunwell to the Gold Coast (Ghana) in 1835. Like the mother church, the Methodist Church in Ghana was established by people of Anglican background.[12]
Latter-day Saints
Seventh-day Adventists
Seventh-day Adventist missionaries arrived in Ghana in 1888. 60 percent of its members in Ghana are Ashanti.[14] In 2014, were almost 400,000 members worshipping in 1,243 congregations. They have 916 schools, 13 hospitals and 12 clinics in the country.[14]
Impact of Christianity
Various aspects of Ghanaian development and nation-building have all been impacted upon due to the role Christianity plays.
Education
At every level of education in the country, there are mission schools that exist with the purposes of:
- Teaching Government of Ghana approved curricula
- Imparting moral discipline into students
However, the main aim of establishing these schools is to impact the values of the various faiths or missions into the younger generation to ensure continuity. Almost all mainline churches have schools at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels of education in the country. Consistently, over 95 percent of the country's top-performing second cycle institutions are all mission schools. The most well-known church-affiliated schools amongst them are:
- Aburi Girls' Secondary School – Presbyterian – Aburi
- Adisadel College – Anglican – Cape Coast
- Takoradi
- Holy Child School – Catholic – Cape Coast
- Mfantsipim School – Methodist – Cape Coast
- Opoku Ware School– Catholic – Kumasi
- Prempeh College – Methodist/Presbyterian – Kumasi
- Pope John Senior High School and Minor Seminary – Catholic – Effiduase Koforidua
- Presbyterian Boys Secondary School – Presbyterian – Accra
- St. Augustine's College – Catholic – Cape coast
- St. Louis Secondary School – Catholic – Kumasi
- St Mary's Senior High School – Catholic – Accra
- St. Monica's School – Anglican – Mampong
- St. Peter's Boys Senior Secondary School – Catholic – Nkwatia Kwahu
- St. Roses Girls Secondary School – Catholic – Akwatia
- Wesley Girls High School – Methodist – Cape Coast
- Mawuli School – Evangelical Presbyterian Church Ghana (Ho)
Health care delivery
Currently, 42% of all the nation's health care needs are catered for by
Gallery
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The Anglican Holy Trinity Cathedral in Accra is one of Ghana's oldest cathedrals
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Cardinal of the Catholic Church
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Postcard photo of Anglican Holy Trinity Cathedral, Accra, Gold Coast, c. 1905. Basel Mission Book Depot no. 28
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Accra Ridge Church
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Christ Presbyterian Church Akropong
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Osu Ebenezer Presbyterian Church
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Ramseyer Memorial Presbyterian Church, Adum, Kumasi
Selected individuals in Ghanaian Christianity
- Gottlieb Ababio Adom
- Seth Senyo Agidi
- Charles Agyin-Asare
- Clement Anderson Akrofi
- Justice Akrofi
- John Kodwo Amissah
- James McKeown (missionary)
- Francis Amenu
- Rose Akua Ampofo
- Sam Korankye Ankrah
- Gilbert Ansre
- David Asante
- Christian Gonçalves Kwami Baëta
- Joseph Oliver Bowers
- Livingstone Komla Buama
- Jacobus Capitein
- Emilie Christaller
- Johann Gottlieb Christaller
- Alexander Worthy Clerk
- Carl Henry Clerk
- Nicholas T. Clerk
- Nicholas Timothy Clerk
- Peter Poreku Dery
- Kwesi Dickson
- Nicholas Duncan-Williams
- Thomas Birch Freeman
- John Fogarty
- Dag Heward-Mills
- Peter Hall
- William Wadé Harris
- Regina Hesse
- Billy Johnson
- Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi
- Emmanuel A. Kissi
- Rose Ann Miller
- Catherine Mulgrave
- Peter Anim Newman
- Opoku Onyinah
- Theophilus Opoku
- Samson Oppong
- Mensa Otabil
- Charles G. Palmer-Buckle
- William Porter
- Christian Jacob Protten
- Rebecca Protten
- Philip Quaque
- Fritz Ramseyer
- Carl Christian Reindorf
- Andreas Riis
- Ian Strachan
- Maame Harris Tani
- George Peter Thompson
- Peter Turkson
- Rosina Widmann
- Johannes Zimmermann
See also
- Religion in Ghana
- Catholic Church in Ghana
- Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana
- Presbyterian Church of Ghana
- Basel Mission
- Bremen Mission
References
- ^ "2022 US State Dept report". US State Dept.
- ^ "Ghana – Religion". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 2020-06-01. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
- ^ "Christianity In Ghana: Everything You Need To Know". BuzzGhana. 2015-02-04. Archived from the original on 2020-09-22. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
- ^ "Muslims cry foul over population figures". newsfromafrica.org. 12 February 2000. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
- ^ Johnstone, Patrick; Miller, Duane Alexander (2015). "Believers in Christ from a Muslim Background: A Global Census". IJRR. 11: 14. Archived from the original on 26 November 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
- ^ "2021 PHC General Report Vol 3C, Background Characteristics" (PDF). Ghana Statistical Service.
- ^ "Cyberjournal for Pentecostal-Charismatic Research". www.pctii.org. Archived from the original on 23 December 2010. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
- ISSN 2158-2440.
- JSTOR j.ctvk3gn0j.
- JSTOR 3269310.
- )
- ^ "Beginning of Methodism in Ghana". The Methodist Church Ghana. Archived from the original on 2019-12-25. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
- ^ "Ghana", Facts and Statistics, Newsroom, LDS Church, January 1, 2012, archived from the original on 2019-06-28, retrieved 2013-03-11
- ^ a b Stack, Peggy (2014-06-06). "Why Mormonism, U.S.-born faiths are growing in Ghana". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
- ^ "A New Paradigm for Increased Access to Healthcare in Ghana" (PDF). chagghana.org/. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-08-08. Retrieved 6 May 2011.