Doing Public Theology in African Christianity: A Reflection on Communiques by Churches in Ghana

Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong   ORCID iD

Issue: Vol.7  No.11  November 2021 Issue  Article 1 pp.190-200
DOI : https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.20217111  |   Published online 15th November 2021.
© 2021 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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Faith in public life can be associated with Christianity in Ghana from the days of the early Western missionaries. Christian faith perspectives on matters of public concerns however, assumed a wider scope with the practice of regular issuance of communiques to governments and the people of Ghana by the churches. Christian ministry is expected to be holistic. A holistic approach in Christian ministry is considered to lead to the holistic development of the nation for the common good and the glory of God. Church leaders subsequently, bring their faith perspectives to matters of public concerns as a ministerial mandate to be in pilgrimage with the people. The study is a reflection on how the churches’ communiques are done and the factors that make the communiques theological in the public space. It further seeks to identify the contribution of the construction of communiques to public theology in Christianity in Ghana. The study as qualitative, examines both available primary and secondary sources. Copies of communiques of some selected churches, ecumenical bodies and joint communiques by ecumenical bodies are examined to appreciate insights of communiques by the churches. The study seeks to make a contribution to the theological construction of public theologies in Ghana and African Christianity.

KEYWORDS: Public Theology, African Christianity, Communique, Common Good

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Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong (PhD), Lecturer in African Christianity, Department of Religious Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi – Ghana.

Opuni-Frimpong K. “Doing Public Theology in African Christianity: A Reflection on Communiques by Churches in Ghana,” E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies, 7 no.11 (2021): 190-200  https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.20217111

© 2021 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Publishers. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).