The Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Ahmed Ibrahim, has stated that the government has constituted a committee to compile a full record of shrines and other places of worship in the country.
He explained that the goal was to establish how many shrines exist in Ghana and to set clear criteria for what counts as one. Mr. Ibrahim made the disclosure during a session with Parliament’s Committee on Assurances.
He said the task will be handled by an inter-agency team drawn from the Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs Directorate, as well as units in charge of Policy, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Research, Statistics and Information Management.
The Regional Coordinating Councils will also assist the team in the exercise. “Honourable Chair, the Minister has put together a working group with staff from Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Policy, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Research, Statistics and Information Management to build the database on shrines and other religious sites nationwide,” he told the committee.
Mr. Ibrahim noted that counting shrines will not be easy due to the varied forms they take. “This is because a shrine isn’t just one type of thing. Even now, if I wanted to count one, I’d need authority. If I see you, I’d have to check you, even do a body check. So it’s clearly not simple,” he said. He added that some people in communities may declare they run a shrine and start activities, which makes it important for government to define what qualifies.
“In some areas, someone will show up and say they have a shrine and begin certain practices. That’s a different form of religion, but we oversee religious matters,” he stated.The Minister stressed that the panel will lay the groundwork for a proper definition, considering the spiritual aspect of shrines.
“The nature of shrines must be agreed upon. That is why we have set up a committee with the right expertise,” he noted.Mr. Ibrahim further pointed out that shrines are not restricted to buildings.
“A shrine could be a pen. It could be a photograph, an image. It could be anything. These are spiritual matters. Lawyers might argue otherwise. So we must have a solid definition of what a shrine is,” he said.
