Short description:

This book investigates the impact of Christian nationalism on democracy in Ghana, arguing that proponents of a specific Christian worldview seek to remake the country according to their values and beliefs. This book will  interest researchers of religion and politics in Africa, with Ghana serving as an important case study.

Long description:

This book investigates the impact of Christian nationalism on democracy in Ghana, arguing that proponents of a specific Christian worldview seek to remake the country according to their values and beliefs.

Christian nationalism is a significant religious and political ideology in several African countries, not only Ghana, but also Zambia and Nigeria. In Ghana, prominent Christian nationalists, encouraged by sections of the American Christian Right, cultivate political influence with powerful political elites and by developing a high media profile to promote their views and increase their numbers of followers. The book examines specific examples of Christian nationalism?s impact on Ghana?s democracy: the national cathedral as a symbol of national unity and social cohesion, anti-Muslim pronouncements threatening inter-faith harmony, and attacks on Ghana?s LGBTQ+ community. Overall, the book argues that Christian nationalism is a specific threat to Ghana?s three decade-long liberal democracy, with the aim of undermining the constitutional equality and human rights of some Ghanaians in favour of a specific Christian worldview.

This book will be of interest to researchers of religion and politics in Africa, with Ghana serving as an important case study for those interested in the regional impact of Christian nationalism.

"Jeff Haynes takes us away from the Christian nationalism in the USA by drawing our attention to Ghana, his research site in Africa. In this book he historizes and analyses Christian nationalism in Ghana and in doing so examines its potential impact on Liberal Democracy and Liberal values on the one hand and the relationship between Christianity and Islam in the country, on the other. This book is sure to be important for a broad range of scholars with interest in religion and politics in Africa. It is a must read for anthropologists, political scientists, theologians, and historians, and others on the continent."

Austin Cheyeka, Associate Professor, Department of Religious and Cultural Studies, University of Zambia, Zambia.

"Jeffrey Haynes? authoritative book on Christian nationalism and Ghana?s democracy is a pathbreaking new work that explores how Christian nationalism has become a politically influential force on Ghana?s political landscape. The book is not only comprehensive with new insights and sophisticated ideas, but it is the first book-length on Christian nationalism and Ghana?s democracy. A must-read book."

Felix Kumah-Abiwu, Associate Professor and Director, Center for African Studies, Kent State University, Ohio, USA.

"In recent years, the subject of Christian nationalism has received a great deal of scholarly attention. Nearly all this work, however, focuses on Christian nationalism in the West. In this fascinating book, Jeffrey Haynes expands our understanding of Christian nationalism by exploring its rise in a non-Western country: Ghana. In showing its impact on the country?s liberal democracy and interreligious relations, Haynes reveals that Christian nationalism is a global issue with profound political and social implications beyond the West. This is an important book that deserves widespread attention from scholars of religion and politics."

Nilay Saiya, Associate Professor of Public Policy & Global Affairs, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

"With Christian Nationalism and Democracy in Ghana, Haynes takes his longstanding quest for understanding the relationship between faith, nationalism, and liberal democracy to Ghana, the West African country to which he has devoted considerable intellectual energy, and the contemporary theater of a brazen attempt to remake the state in accordance with ?Christian? values. The result is an empirically rich and historically grounded analysis of religious ideology that will appeal equally to students and scholars of religion and politics, both in Africa and beyond."

Ebenezer Obadare, Douglas Dillon Senior Fellow for Africa Studies, Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), Washington, D.C, USA and author of Pentecostal Republic: Religion and the Struggle for State Power in Nigeria (Zed Books, 2018). 

"Jeffrey Haynes? Christian Nationalism and Democracy in Ghana is the first book to give a detailed account of the political impact of Christian Nationalism in Ghana, examining one African country?s struggle with balancing democracy?s relationship with religion in the context of the rising impact of the conservative American Religious Right on politics in Africa. For Africanists and the general public interested in the changing terrain of Religion and Politics in Africa, this is a must read!"

Siphiwe Dube, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa and co-author of The D-Word: Perspectives on Democracy in Tumultuous Times.

"This study, by a well-established author on religion and politics, is groundbreaking and essential reading, not only for the study of African Christianity, but also for outlining trends and transnational currents by which Christian nationalism influences politics worldwide."

Allan H. Anderson, Emeritus Professor, University of Birmingham, UK, and author of An Introduction to Pentecostalism.

"Building on his decades-long research on Ghanaian politics, Jeffrey Haynes? Christian Nationalism and Democracy in Ghana is a provocative contribution to the ongoing debates about the place of Americanized Christianity in national politics in Ghana. This study adds another important layer to the nexus between African liberal democracy and Christian nationalism. This excellent book will be of broad relevance to researchers in politics, religion, and policymaking."

George M. Bob-Milliar, Associate Professor in African Studies (Politics & History), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.

"Jeffrey Haynes? latest work is a timely, bold, and incisive study of Christian nationalism in Ghana with far-reaching implications. Spanning more than 25 years of political and demographic change, Haynes explores the national and transnational forces that have fuelled the growing influence of Christian nationalism on public policy. Thought-provoking and deeply researched, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in global Christianity, human rights, Christian-Muslim relations, and the prospects for liberal democracy in Africa and beyond."

Elizabeth Sperber, Assistant Professor, Political Science, University of Denver, USA.

Table of Contents:

1: Christian Nationalism, Politics and Secularisation in Ghana  2: Religion and Politics in Ghana  3: Christian Nationalism in Ghana: Theology and Ideology  4: Christian Nationalism and Liberal Democracy in Ghana  5: The US Christian Right, the ?Liberal? West, and Christian Nationalism in Ghana  6: The National Cathedral: Christian Priority or White Elephant?  7: Christian-Muslim Interfaith Relations and Religious Equality  8: LGBTQ+ Rights and the ?Anti-Gay? Bill  9: Christian nationalism and democracy in Ghana: What do we know?  Author?s Personal Interviews