Former President of the Bible Society of Ghana, Most Rev. Professor Emmanuel Asante, has affirmed that he holds political views and allegiance but is mindful of not allowing his allegiance to create divisions within his church.
Prof. Asante said this during the Bile Society Symposium in Accra on Wednesday, February 5, emphasizing that fellow men of God should follow suit to avoid dividing the church with their party affiliation.
“I am not talking about neutrality because you cannot be politically neutral. I am not neutral, and I will not be neutral, but I will be very sensitive because of my congregation not to divide my people,” he emphasized.
Read Also: Fire outbreaks: Expert criticizes One District, One fire Tender policy
He mentioned that so far as pastors and leaders of churches do vote during elections, they have a political party of allegiance, but cautioned them not to publicly identify their political affiliation considering Ghana’s political landscape.
“You should be very careful that you clearly publicly identify your political affiliation because then you’re bound to divide your people looking at the context that we have.”
“In the context where we are in Ghana, I would warn you if you’re a pastor not to publicly identify your political affiliation. That doesn’t mean you’re neutral; the fact that you vote means that you have a choice, but be sensitive because of your role.”.
Prof. Asante further cautioned the chiefs to as well eschew publicly identifying themselves with a political party. He said they serve as a point of unity, and therefore publicly identifying with a political party will ruin their role of being fathers for all.
“The same applies to Nananom because they are a point of unity. If a Nana or a chief identifies with a particular political party, he brings all sorts of problems to his area. You’re a father of all, and you need to bring all people together,” he noted.
According to him, Ghana’s democracy is not yet as mature as that of the Western world to contain the political identities of leaders of the church, hence the need for pastors to keep their allegiance private not to court the anger of the people.
“In some mature political cultures, it doesn’t matter; it won’t change anything. I have lived in Canada where Catholic fathers and religious leaders identify where they belong; it doesn’t change anything in the church because of the politics there; they have learned to tolerate differences, and they know that people belong wherever they are.”
He also advocated for a culture of respect and acceptance of diversity in Ghanaian society.
He emphasized the importance of embracing differing preferences in culture, politics, and other areas to maintain peace and social cohesion.
View this post: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/161xM3kPSw/
The Bible symposium was part of other activities to mark this year’s Bible Week by the Bible Society of Ghana. It brought together prominent Christian leaders to discuss the importance of unity in Ghana’s development.
The theme for the week’s celebration, “Bible and Unity for Nation Building,” underscores the importance of tolerance and oneness among Christians and the Ghanaian community to drive development.