Indigenisation of Christianity Among the Asantes: Truly Asante and Truly Christian?
Anthony Kofi Anomah 
Issue: Vol.6 No.9 December 2020 Issue Article 1 pp. 394-404
DOI : https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.2020121 | Published online 8th December 2020.
© 2020 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Christianity was rekindled in Asante Kingdom in the Gold Coast (Ghana) in the 15th century by European missionaries. The Asante converts were taught to abandon their religion to become Christians. However, some Asante Christians, and in fact, this could be true about other contexts in Africa and elsewhere, remain dual religious, accepting Christianity on one hand and Asante Traditional Religion on the other. In this study, the author seeks to find out why some Asante Christians resort to some elements of Asante Traditional Religion in times of crisis and whether an Asante can be truly Asante and truly Christian. The study used the convergent mixed-methods case study approach in the Roman Catholic Church, the Methodist Church Ghana and the Church of Pentecost in Ejisu Juaben Municipality to collect primary data using a questionnaire and an interview guide. Using the Krejcie and Morgan Sample Size Determination Table, three hundred and seventy-seven (377) Christians with diverse backgrounds and roles out of a total population of 20,000 Christians from the three Churches were surveyed. In addition, nine (9) ordained ministers from the three denominations were interviewed purposively in the study because of their knowledge and expertise in the topic. The study found out that some Asante Christians are dual religious because they are pragmatic and resort to either Christianity or some elements of Asante Traditional Religion in times of crisis for solutions to their problems. The study recommends that Asante Christians should appreciate the role of Asante Traditional Religion in preparing the soil for the establishment of Christianity; dialogue with Asante Traditional Religion and enculturate or integrate the gospel with Asante Traditional Religion to become truly Asante and truly Christian.
Keywords: Asante, Christian, Christianity, Traditional Religion, dialogue, inculturation.
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Rev. Fr. Anthony Kofi Anomah (PhD) is a Catholic religious missionary priest of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Province of Ghana. He is currently the Rector of the Spiritan University College, Ejisu, Ghana; and a member of the Ghana Psychology Council. His research interests are in the Church, Christianity and culture. He has published several articles in both local and foreign journals on issues in his research interest.
Anomah, A.K., “Indigenisation of Christianity Among the Asantes: Truly Asante and Truly Christian?” E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies, 6 no.9 (2020): 394-404 https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.2020121
© 2020 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/).
