Clergy must keep political leanings private - Lecturer

A lecturer at the Political Science Department of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Dr Samuel Adu-Gyamfi, has said pastors and churches have every justification in airing their views on political matters, but cautions that such men of God should not openly declare their support for any political groupings.

He has said priests are regarded as figures to whom politicians belonging to different parties seeking office could go to for special prayers or advice regarding their ambitions hence it was necessary for preachers to keep their partisan leanings to themselves.

Dr Adu-Gyamfi made these remarks on Accra News Saturday March 12, 2016 in response to questions over the propriety of men of God declaring their support for political groupings.

He said contrary to suggestions for the clergy to steer clear of politics, the church could use its position to play a more influential role in how a state’s affairs could be run. He cited the situation in the US where pastors often air their views on which national issues politicians would need to tackle as elections approached. He added that it was also not uncommon for politicians to visit churches to present their campaign messages in the heat of electioneering.

“The church should even be the best place to whip up patriotism and to undertake further voter education as the country heads to the polls,” Dr Adu-Gyamfi further submitted.

He nevertheless admitted that the issue of the church and politics was still “a difficult area which requires a considerable degree of care”.

“If a pastor overtly campaigns for a party from the altar, it could create a lot of problems. Some church members may lose all respect for the pastor for his open declaration given that any of the aspirants could visit his church, and he, as an elder, will need to pray for God’s favour on any of the aspirants,” Dr Adu-Gyamfi noted.

He, however, said the call for pastors to keep their allegiances private should not keep them for criticising political decisions or happenings that they regard as improper. To him it was the religious duty of men of the cloth to “stand on God’s word to give correction”.

However, in pursuing that obligation, he advised clergymen not to be seen to be constantly criticising only one political party while turning a blind eye to the foibles of a rival party, as this could create a signal to their congregations of which political parties they sympathise with.