Inter-religious Dialogue for Holistic Development in Ghana: The Role of the Christian Council of Ghana
Joseph Kwadwo Asuming 
& Cosmas Ebo Sarbah
Issue: Vol.11 No. 3 March 2025 Issue Article 6 pp.105 – 116
DOI : https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.20251136 | Published online 28th March, 2025.
© 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
The need for appreciable inter-religious relations in the increasingly religiously pluralistic world cannot be over-emphasized. This need is even more felt in the various countries where constitutional frameworks have entrenched clauses on individual rights to choice of religion. Going over and above its Christian unity mandate, the Christian Council of Ghana has embarked on an ambitious journey to promote inter-religious encounters. The article, through information obtained from one-on-one interviews of prominent Church leaders and the cross-section of members of the Christian Council of Ghana as well as the critical assessment of the conference and archival materials of the Council, examines the critical role of the Christian Council of Ghana in the promotion of inter-religious dialogue in Ghana. It argues that the Council has developed a relevant inclusive and communal theological position for the inter-religious dialogue for the member churches and individuals. The article, further, argues that critical activities and programmes championed by the Department for Interfaith and Ecumenic Relations of the Christian Council of Ghana in collaboration with the Catholic Bishops’ Conference and the Muslim leadership and other stakeholders in the area of peacebuilding and conflict resolution, good governance, and social development have taken inter-religious dialogue to a highly appreciable heights in Ghana. The paper contributes significantly to the available information on the promotion of interreligious dialogue in Ghana.
Keywords: Ecumenism, Religious Encounters, Interreligious Dialogue, Sub-Saharan Africa, Islam and Christianity
Allotey, Godwin Akweiteh. “Discrimination of Muslim Students: Christian Council Calls for Consensus.” Citi 97.3 fm, February 22, 2015. https://citifmonline.com/2015/02/discrimination-of-muslim-students-christian-council-calls-for-consensus/#sthash.ushtcIEi.dpuf.
Ampofo, Obrempong Yaw. “[Photos] Muslims in Western Region Demonstrate over Discrimination.” Citi 97.3 fm, 2015. https://citifmonline.com/2015/02/photos-muslims-in-western-region-demonstrate-over-discrimination/#sthash.OgmSWrjk.dpuf.
Anquandah, James. Agenda Extraordinaire: 80 Years of the Christian Council of Ghana 1929- 2009. Accra: Asempa Publishers, 2009.
Ansah, Marian Efe. “We’ll Sanction Heads of Institutions Infringing on Rights of Muslims – Mahama.” Citi 97.3 fm, February 26, 2015. https://citifmonline.com/2015/02/well-sanction-heads-of-institutions-infringing-on-rights-of-muslims-mahama/#sthash.Ga0M6XKr.dpuf.
Asante, Richard. “Ethnicity, Religion, and Conflict in Ghana: The Roots of Ga Nativism.” Ghana Studies 14, no. 1 (2011): 81–131.
Aslan, Adnan. Religious Pluralism in Christian and Islamic Philosophy: The Thought of John Hick and Seyyed Hossein Nasr. Routledge, 2013.
Azumah, John. “Muslim-Christian Relations in Ghana: Too Much Meat Does Not Spoil the Soup.” Current Dialogue 36 (2000): 5–9.
Barth, Karl. Church Dogmatics: The Doctrine of the Word of God (Part 1-2). Vol. 1. Clark, 1957.
Boff, Leonardo. Church: Charism and Power. Liberation Theology and the Institutional Church. London: SCM, 1985.
Buah, F.K. A History of Ghana, Revised and Updated. Malaysia: Macmillan, 1998.
Christian Council of Ghana. Celebrating 90 Years of Mobilization the Church for National Transformation. Vol. 3. Accra: The Interfaith and Ecumenical Relations Department of CCG: Christian Council of Ghana, 2019.
———. “Mobilizing the Church for National Transformation.” Christian Home Week Series. Accra: Christian Council of Ghana, 2017.
———. “The Church’s Political Role in Nation Building.” Christian Home Week Series. Accra: Christian Council of Ghana, 2016.
Dartey, Asante D., and Vesta Nyarko-Mensah. The Church, Ethnicity and Democracy: 1994 Mid-Year Seminar Report. Accra: Christian Council of Ghana, 1994.
Ellingwood, Jane. “The Programme for Christian-Muslim Relations in Africa (PROCMURA): An Evolutionary Perspective.” Muslim World 98, no. 1 (2008).
Garnier, Maurice, and Mark Schafer. “Educational Model and Expansion of Enrollments in Sub-Saharan Africa.” Sociology of Education 79, no. 2 (2006): 153–76.
Ghana News Agency. “Christian Council Engages Journalists on Peace Project.” Ghana Web, December 30, 2022. https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Christian-Council-engages-journalists-on-peace-project-1687943.
Hinnels, John R. A New Handbook of Living Religions . 2nd ed. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 1997.
Jones, Laurie Beth. Teach Your Team to Fish: Using Ancient Wisdom for Inspired Teamwork. Kindle Edition. New York: Currency, 2011.
Knitter, Paul F. Introducing Theologies of Religions. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2002.
———. Towards a Protestant Theology of Religions: A Case Study of Paul Althaus and Contemporary Attitudes . Marburg, Germany: N.G. Elwert, 1974.
May, Melaine A. “The Unity We Seek, the Unity We Share.” In A History of the Ecumenical Movement, edited by John Briggs. Geneva: World Council of Churches Publications, 2004.
Mbillah, Johnson A. “Towards Peace and Reconciliation Between Christians and Muslims in Africa: The PROCMURA Initiative.” Journal of the Henry Martyn Institute: Papers from the Consultation on Reconciliation 21, no. 2 (2001).
Mbillah, Johnson A. “African Churches and Interfaith Relations: Food for Thought.” PROCMURA Occasional Paper 1, no. 1 (2004).
———. “Inter-Faith Relations and the Quest for Peace in Africa.” Encounter (Nairobi, Kenya), no. 1 (2002): 3–15.
Mitri, Tarek. Dialogue Between Christians and Muslims Today. Edited by Michael Ipgrave. The Road Ahead: A Christian-Muslim Dialogue. London: Church House Publishing, 2002.
Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. “Islamic Spirituality: Foundations.” In Christian-Muslim Encounters, edited by Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad and Wadi Zaidan Haddad, 457–67. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 2013.
Owusu-Ansah, David, and Emmanuel Akyeampong. “Religious Pluralism and Interfaith Coexistence: Ecumenicalism in the Context of Traditional Modes of Tolerance.” Legon Journal of the Humanities 30, no. 2 (December 31, 2019): 1–18. https://doi.org/10.4314/ljh.v30i2.1.
Pobee, John Samuel. Skenosis: Christian Faith in an African Context. Gweru: Mambo Press, 1992.
———. “Ecumenical Formation in the Service of a Renewed Church.” The Ecumenical Review 53, no. 3 (2001): 319.
———. “Religion and Politics in Sub-Saharan Africa.” Journal of Theology for Southern Africa 83 (1993): 14–26.
Religion & Ethics. “Faith Groups and Corporate Social Responsibility.” Religion & Ethics News Weekly, January 8, 2016. https://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2016/01/08/january-8-2016-faith-groups-and-corporate-social-responsibility/28562/.
Sarbah, Cosmas Ebo. “Religion, State, and Constitution in Ghana: Disputed Realms of Neutrality.” Journal of Ecumenical Studies 58, no. 3 (2023): 376–98.
———. “Religious Rights in the State Regulated Mission Schools in Ghana.” In Religion and Sustainable Development: Ghanaian Perspectives, edited by George Ossom-Batsa, Nicolleta Gatti, and Rabiatu Deinyo Ammah. Vatican City: Urbaniana University Press, 2018.
The Constitution of the Christian Council of Ghana.
The 2007 Annual Report of the Christian Council of Ghana.
Joseph Kwadwo Asuming is a PhD student at the Department for the Study of Religions, University of Ghana. Email: jasuming6@gmail.com
Fr. Cosmas Ebo Sarbah (PhD) is a senior lecturer of Comparative Religion and Interreligious Dialogue in sub-Saharan Africa at the Department for the Study of Religions, University of Ghana.
Asuming, Joseph Kwadwo, and Cosmas Ebo Sarbah. “Inter-religious Dialogue for Holistic Development in Ghana: The Role of the Christian Council of Ghana,” E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies, 11 no.3 (2025): 105 – 116. https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.20251136
© 2025 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
