religion in ghana

religion in ghana
i thought it would be interesting to tell you all a little about the religious beliefs in ghana.  i feel like before i start though, i should give a little disclaimer.  these are just my observations based on people i've met.  i don't think all ghanaians believe these ways, and of course my observations may not be quite accurate. 
ghanaians are very religious.  the two main religions in ghana are christianity and islam.  in southern ghana, people tend to be more christian; in the north, there are more muslims.  the town where i live is probably a 50-50 split. 
in ghana, there is no separation between church and state.  there is no subtlety or political correctness regarding religious beliefs.  it is perfectly acceptable to ask a stranger: are you muslim or christian?  and it is generally assumed that you will answer one of those two.  often pick-up football (soccer) matches are divided into teams, christians vs. muslims.  it's very casual. 
in a recent conversation with some teachers at my school, one of them described ghanaians as very tolerant.  while there are definitely some things they are not tolerant about, the statement is absolutely true about religion.  i think a huge reason that christians and muslims coexist so well here is they don't see any reason for tension or competition.  i've heard both muslims and christians tell me that they all believe in the same god; they just worship him in different ways.
as far as the ways that they do worship god, those are quite different.  for the muslims, when the call to prayer comes, shops close down for those few minutes.  if you are in town, you'll see rows of men bent kneeling in prayer right in front of the shop where they are. 
for christians, worship is on sunday mornings, and you'll see women in beautiful colorful dresses walking or riding to church.  there is a variety of denominations of churches here.  some of them are quite charismatic, some a bit calmer.  church services can last anywhere from probably two to six hours. 
the church i have attended a few times is a catholic church that meets in the lecture hall on my school's campus.  it lasts about two hours, the shortest among ghanaian churches i have attended.  while the service is a mass, it is quite different than any american mass i've seen.  for one, this particular service is in three languages.  there is the english, then the dagaare, and then sign language for the deaf students who attend.  music is accompanied by drums and xylophones, with a choir of women singing.  the music is loud, fast, and often accompanied with shrieks and screams.  it is quite beautiful.  when it comes time for the offering, people bring forward their usual monies, but then there is usually some group that presents the church with a gift.  so a couple times, a line of people have brought in offerings of tea, soap, toilet paper, fruit, onions, yams, etc.  it is all arranged neatly on trays and set carefully at the front of the church. 
i have to admit, my favorite part of the ghanaian catholic mass is the dance-off.  yep, that's right!  this is a time when the priest (usually an old, white, european man, though sometimes a younger ghanaian man) sits down for a while and lets the women do their thing.  the music gets louder, and one brave woman starts by geting up and dancing her way to the front.  as others are moved, they go and join her, shrieking and screaming and laughing and having a wonderful time.  children start rushing forward to join in, and the front of the church is filled with laughter and exuberant dancing.  the priest and all the rest of us who remain seated just watch, laugh, and enjoy.  i've only ever seen two men join in the dancing, but they received cheers and laughter the entire time. 
so there you have it.  religion in ghana.  quite different than religion in america!