Seeking Spiritual Direction: The Motivation of the Contemporary Ghanaian Christian
George K. Kyeremeh 
, John Kwaku Opoku , Frances Emily Owusu-Ansah & Kwabena Agyeman-Badu
Issue: Vol.11 No. 5 2025 Issue Article 2 pp.188 – 199
DOI : https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.20251152 | Published online 23rd May, 2025.
© 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Traditionally, divination is believed to offer alternative solutions to the challenges of some Ghanaians, and its version in the Christian space is commonly known in Akan as Akwankyerɛ (spiritual direction). Given this, most contemporary Christians turn to Akwankyerɛ as the major hope in life to solve their daily problems. Consequently, spiritual centres and patronisers are fast growing and dominating Christianity in Ghana. Therefore, this study explores the reasons behind the Ghanaian contemporary Christians’ search for spiritual support. Forty participants, including spiritual practitioners and clients, were studied from a qualitative perspective. Interviews were conducted and recorded for analysis. The study showed that many participants do not only seek Akwankyerε to strengthen their religious affinity to a deity, but also for different reasons such as health, economic, psycho-social, and desire for justice. The study recommends the integration of trained counsellors into the practice of Akwankyerε. This study contributes to the discussion of the proliferation of Akwankyerε in Ghana.
Keywords – Clients, Divination, Practitioners, Religion, Spiritual Direction
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George K. Kyeremeh holds a Master of Arts in Mental Health Counselling from the Marist College, New York and Master of Arts in Religious Studies from St. Joseph Seminary, New York, USA. His research interest has been in Religion and Mental Health. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Religious Studies at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi. He is the Principal of St. Ambrose College of Education at Dormaa-Akwamu in the Bono Region of Ghana.
Rev. Fr. John Kwaku Opoku (PhD, Radboud Universiteit, Nijmegen) is an associate professor of Religious Studies at KNUST, Kumasi. He is a member of the European Centre for Research Training and Development (ECRTD) and the head of UNESCO Chair in Bioethics, Ghana Unit.
Sr. Frances Emily Owusu-Ansah (PhD, Florida State University), is an associate professor and the head of Department of Behavioural Sciences, KNUST, Kumasi. She is a member of the International Affiliate of the American Psychological Association (APA; Clinical Psychology, Division 12, Africa Inter-professional Network (AfriPEN), and Africa Network for Evidence to Action in Disability (AfriNEAD).
Kwabena Agyeman-Badu (MPhil in Religious Studies, KNUST) is assistant lecturer at SDA College of Education, Agona-Ashanti. He has interest in Pentecostalism, Religion and Ethics, Religious and Moral education. He is currently a PhD candidate in Religious Studies at KNUST, Kumasi.
Kyeremeh, George K., John Kwaku Opoku, Frances Emily Owusu-Ansah and Kwabena Agyeman-Badu. “Seeking Spiritual Direction: The Motivation of the Contemporary Ghanaian Christian,” E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies, 11 no.5 (2025): 188 – 199. https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.20251152
© 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/).
