Despite secular constitution, 'Ghana is a Christian nation practically' - Akufo-Addo

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said Ghana is a Christian state in reality despite having a secular constitution.

According to Akufo-Addo, the constitution identifies Ghana as a secular state but “practically” Ghana is a Christian nation.

The President made this point when he received a Christian delegation from the Global Christian Forum (GCF) at the Jubilee House to brief him on the 25th anniversary celebration of the GCF and its 4th forum scheduled to take place from April 15 to 20 in Accra.

The forum, to be held for the first time in Africa and hosted by Ghana, is on the theme “That the world may know.” It is expected to attract about 300 global Christian leaders of various churches across the world to Accra.

Akufo-Addo welcomed the choice of Ghana as host of the important global Christian event.

“I appreciate it very much the work that you’re doing. Ghana is a Christian nation practically, constitutionally we are a secular nation but the majority, the over­whelming majority of our people… we are looking at something like 70 to 72 per cent are Christians, self-professed Christians of which I am one and we feel very strongly about our attachment and to have an organisation that has its focus of bringing together all the various families within the Christian polity is an exceptional praise-worthy endeavour,” he stated.

For his part, the President of GCF, Reverend Dr. Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, said the GCF and the government had something in common in the area of reconciling political division in the country and the different Christian denomina­tions.

“We want to make space for those new voices in the Church to balance that with the old historic voices. There is no other place within global Christianity where we can gather the whole diversity from Catholic, orthodox evangelical Pentecostal etc. than in the spirit of solidarity under oneness in Christ.

"This is our unique calling and we do this not to argue about dogma or argue about doctrine, but by establishing common relationship that we have in God’s spirit and in Christ,” he emphasised.