Thank you Right Honourable Speaker, for the opportunity to make this statement on regulation of churches in Ghana.
Mr. Speaker, the right to religious freedom has been a perpetual feature in our laws post-independence. Article 21(1) of the 1992 Constitution provides thus, “all persons shall have the right to freedom to practice any religion and to manifest such practice”. Again, article 26(1) states thus, “every person is entitled to enjoy, practice, profess, maintain and promote any culture, language, tradition or religion subject to the provisions of this Constitution”
These articles, read together, solidify the right to religious freedom of every citizen under Ghanaian laws.
The constitution, therefore, prohibits religious discrimination and stipulates individuals are free to profess and practice any religion and manifest such practice. These rights may be limited for stipulated reasons, which include “restrictions that are reasonably required in the interest of defence, public safety, public health or the running of essential services, on the movement or residence within Ghana of any person or persons generally, or any class of persons.”
This notwithstanding, it has become necessary in recent times to consider the introduction of some form of regulation on the activities of churches due to their adverse impact on the lives of people.
Mr. Speaker, under the Companies Act, 1963 Act 179, religious groups which are classified as companies limited by guarantee must register with the Office of the Registrar General to receive formal government recognition and status as a legal entity, but there is no penalty for not meeting this requirement. The registration requirement for religious groups is the same as for other non-governmental organizations. Most indigenous religious groups do not register.
According to the law, registered religious groups are exempt from paying taxes on non-profit ecclesiastical, charitable, and educational activities. Religious groups are required to pay progressive taxes, on a pay-as-earned basis, on for-profit business activities. The International Religious Freedom Report 2017 (Ghana) indicated that there were over 10,000 churches and faith-based groups which claim allegiance to Christianity. This over-growing number unfortunately has attracted charlatans and imposters who parade on the streets and fill our media space peddling their false wares to unsuspecting Ghanaians.
Mr. Speaker, this situation is a sad reflection of the state of the country in terms of persons abusing the rights and freedoms guaranteed them under articles 21 and 26 of the 1992 Constitution.
The adverse effects of the proliferation of these churches include noise pollution and fraud.
The immediate past General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana, Rev. Dr. Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong, in July last year contributed to the growing discussion centred on regulating churches to protect the public. He called for an introduction of an independent body to regulate activities of churches which he felt could ensure discipline in church administration across the country. He called for a national conversation which may lead to parliament enacting some laws that will give a backbone to a body that will be able to regulate and bring sanity to the church Again, in August 2018, the Moderator of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Ghana (EPCG), Right Reverend Dr. Seth Senyo Agidi, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency reiterated the growing concerns of citizens when he intimated that churches must be regulated. He continued by stating that pastors must be trained and certified before being given the responsibility of leading the children of God. He, therefore, urged the leadership of the various denominations to institute some form of self-regulation to ensure that anyone leading God’s children was certified.
Mr. Speaker, these calls were all made following the rise in allegations of human rights abuses, extortion by some pastors against some of their public, noise pollution among many others congregants and the general.
Consequently, these charlatans parading as pastors and prophets prey on the poor and innocent by feasting on their vulnerability.
It is therefore, the sacred duty of the state to protect the vulnerable from being exploited for the benefit of a few people. It is imperative that we consider setting up an independent body devoid of politics and empowered the activities of the church.
In light of the above mentioned necessity to introduce some form of regulation in the activities of churches and religious gatherings, I conclude with the following requirements:
- There must be an independent body backed by legislation and tasked to sanitize the activities
- of the church to eliminate the ills associated with the proliferation of churches in the country
- The National Communications Authority, National Media Commission and other allied bodies must review the licence of numerous religious television and radio channels and stations to ensure that unscrupulous persons and organizations who hide behind the freedom of religion to exploit the public are thwarted in their operations
- Again, the various media houses must be more circumspect in the calibre of religious persons they grant audience to, particularly on television and radio stations since these remain the most potent medium of information to the public.
- Lastly, I urge the public to be vigilant and circumspect in identifying which religious groups and churches they may associate with. They must heed to the call in 1st John 4:1 which admonishes all believers to believe not every spirit, but to try the spirits to know whether they are from God because many false prophets are gone into the world.
Thank you once again Rt. Hon. Speaker for this opportunity
