The Minister for Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Hon. Stephen Asamoah Boateng, has hinted the Ministry’s plans to engage stakeholders in the coming days on the National Policy on Religion in Ghana.
He said, the objective of the policy on religion is to put structures in place to help religious bodies self-manage their front, while weeding out the charlatans to protect the citizenry, which is government’s core priority.
According to him, government’s legal framework for management of religious affairs is underpinned by Article 21(1)(c) of the 1992 Constitution which states that, ‘all persons shall have the right to freedom to practice any religion and to manifest such practice’.
The Minister made these comments at a Press Conference on Tuesday, 14th November 2023 in Accra to announce the Ministry’s planned Stakeholder Consultation on the proposed National Religious Policy scheduled to take place from the 20th November, 2023 to 26th November, 2023 across the country to seek inputs from Stakeholders.
For the purpose of the Stakeholder Consultation, ‘The sixteen regions have been grouped into four zones namely, Zone 1, – Oti, Volta, Eastern and Greater Accra; Zone 2 captures, Central, Western and Western North; Zone 3 covers Ashanti, Ahafo, Bono East and Bono; whereas Zone 4 covers Upper East, North East, Northern, Savannah and Upper West region,’ he explained.
Hon. Asamoah Boateng indicated that the proposed National Religious Policy will address the challenges and opportunities that arise from the coexistence of different faiths and beliefs in our society. He added that the policy will also provide a framework for the protection and promotion of the rights and freedoms of all religious groups as well as the prevention and resolution of conflicts that may arise from religious differences.
He called on the Media to get involved in propagating the project as a good policy would go a long way to serve the good of the country as religion can help shape the young generation to be responsible and respectable adults.
For his part, the Country Representative for United Nations for Populations Fund (UNFPA), Dr Wilfred Ochan, noted that the proposed National Policy on Religion was a step in the right direction, as Religious Leaders provide guidance and direction in the areas they find themselves.
In his view, Religious Bodies play a unique role in terms of mobilizing people to promote a common course. As a result, there is the need for a strong engagement so that together government and Religious Leaders, can help protect the citizenry from false believes, as society stands to benefit from the contribution of Religious Bodies to the economic growth and development of the country.
