Does religion unite or divide us?

As Ghana approaches the general election on December 7, the qualities of the two main presidential candidates, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and Mr John Dramani Mahama, are in the spotlight.

Who do Ghanaians want to lead the country through the next four, potentially turbulent, years, a period when multiple problems – internationally, a volatile world, with expanding conflicts and the climate emergency – dovetail with Ghana’s domestic concerns: potentially calamitous climate change, galamsey, corruption, democratic backsliding and a highly uncertain economic future?

Last Monday’s editorial in the Daily Graphic (November 4, 2024), explaining why religion unites Ghanaians, was a thoughtful exposition of one of the country’s great virtues: religious tolerance and absence of religion-based conflicts. This is highly unusual in a sub-region – West Africa – as well as in the region more generally, where religion-based conflicts, often overlapping with inter-ethnic tensions, pose grave dangers to stability, peace and human development.

So, why does the Graphic find it necessary to remind readers that religion in Ghana is different, a force for good, uniting Ghanaians irrespective of their own personal religious allegiance? The reason is that, for the first time in Ghana’s independent history, the two main candidates for the presidency are from different religions, Islam and Christianity. Dr Bawumia is a Muslim, and Mr Mahama is a Christian, a member of the Assemblies of God Church. 

Religions

Every president since 1957 has been a Christian. If Dr Bawumia wins the presidential election, Ghana is entering unchartered waters, a Muslim president in a Christian-majority country. The last census in 2021 found that 71.3 per cent of Ghanaians were Christians and 19.9 per cent were Muslims. Both religions have seen major growth in recent decades, with minority religions, notably African traditional religions, largely squeezed out.

What would be the outcome if a Muslim becomes president of Ghana, in terms of favouring one religion over the other? The concern for some Christians is that a Muslim president would use his position to make life better for his fellow Muslims and, given that development is often seen as a zero-sum game, worse for Ghana’s Christian majority? But how, practically, would this be manifested? Ghana’s Muslims are spread throughout the country, with concentrations in the major cities, Accra, Kumasi and so on, and with the northern regions home to most of Ghana’s Muslims. Christians, on the other hand, are concentrated in the south and middle belts of the country.

Ghana’s independence was led by a Christian, Kwame Nkrumah. More generally, nearly all of Ghana’s first generation of nationalist leaders were not only Christians but also products of the colonial education system. When the British left the Gold Coast and independent Ghana emerged, political and economic power was firmly in the hands of Christians. Muslims were by and large politically and economically marginalised. Initially, Muslims were politically quiet, avoiding politics and largely leaving it in the hands of the Christian elites. More recently, however, Muslims have begun to demand what they see as a more equitable share of the country’s economic and development cake. 

Flt Lt Jerry John Rawlings, Chairman of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) regime, was aware of development imbalances in Ghana. During the PNDC regime, as well as during his tenure as a two-term, popularly elected president, Mr Rawlings presided over determined attempts to redress developmental imbalances. Among others, the northern regions of Ghana benefitted. To this day, the north of the country is largely a National Democratic Congress (NDC) stronghold. People have long memories. Mr Rawlings and the NDC are widely remembered for the north’s development upgrades.

Mr Mahama is from the north of Ghana, born in Damongo, capital of West Gonja Municipality. Dr Bawumia was born in Tamale, capital of the Northern Region. Both men might be expected to favour their home regions if elected president. In other words, whoever of the two men wins, assuming that a third candidate does not unexpectedly triumph in the presidential election, they are likely to favour, or at least be perceived to favour, the north of the country where many of Ghana’s Muslims live.

Interfaith harmony

So, what do the fears of some Christians amount to? There is a feeling among some Christians that Muslims are doing rather well and that this may be at the expense of Christians. Some Christians point to the recently inaugurated national mosque, which they erroneously believe was partially funded by the government. The national mosque did not, however, benefit from a pesewa of state – that is, taxpayers’ – funds; the government of Turkey provided the finance for the national mosque.

More generally, development issues are at the heart of the concern of some Christians that Muslims are already being favoured and that the potential election of a Muslim president would take this further. Christian perceptions in this regard are not conducive to continued interfaith harmony. Whoever becomes president after December 7 will need to be aware that interfaith harmony is a precious asset, essential to Ghana’s continued peace and stability. The new president will need to carefully protect the country’s long traditions of interfaith harmony, envied not only by many other African countries but also more widely in other parts of the world. The country’s much-praised interfaith tolerance is a jewel in Ghana’s crown and to lose it would usher in a harsher, more divisive and divided country. Don’t go there, Mr President.

The writer is an Emeritus Professor of Politics, London Metropolitan University, UK