Caesar and Christ: The Church and State in Ghana’s Fourth Republic: A renewedanalysis

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to argue that there are boundaries between the church and the state
that must govern state/citizen relationship in Ghana. We specifically argue that the church is
not obliged to perform the duties of the state and the state is not expected to perform the duty
of the church, though sometimes there are overlaps. At least from the perspective of the
church, its primary duty is evangelism – framed around shaping the moral lives of its
members, while social and economic development activities come secondary. The state, on
the other hand is mandated to provide legal framework to govern the lives of its citizens and
also pursue developmental activities to meet the needs of its citizens. The church is not to
usurp the role of the state and the state is not expected to supplant the church. The failure to
see this boundary, which may not be neatly defined, because of the developmental challenges
in Ghana, has resulted in some individuals – including church members and politicians –
accusing the church of doing little or nothing to push for the socio-economic development of
Ghana. This implies that while the state and the church may complement each other in
advancing the development of Ghana, the two institutions are not the same in terms of their
primary responsibilities. But certainly, the separation between the church and state, which
we will address in this paper, has been tensed and sometimes conflictual especially as the
church and the state seek to cross the lines of demarcation to invade each other’s sphere of
influence.