Parliament to decide on regulation of churches

Discussions on the need to regulate churches in the country will be top on the agenda of Parliament after recess.

Speaking to GBC’s Radio Ghana, the Chairman of the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, Ben Abdallah Banda, said this will be done in broader consultation with key religious bodies and other stakeholders for national consensus to trigger the passage of a Bill to regulate churches.

Mr. Banda was, however, quick to add, that it will be unconstitutional to compel independent or ‘One-man churches’ to join any union or religious bodies.

His comments come after the General Overseer of the Evangelical Church of Ghana, Rev. Maxwell Linwangol, renewed calls for a law to make or unionise one-man churches to be part of a recognised religious body.

This, he noted, will make it possible to regulate and manage their activities.

Speaking at a graduation ceremony for Pastors of the College of Theology and Mission in Accra, Rev Liwangol said daily reported cases of Ministers of the Gospel defrauding members and using the name of God to engage in all sorts of vices is a cause for concern.

He said such legislation will bring some sanity into operations of churches.

Meanwhile, the Upper Northern Presbytery Moderator of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Rev. Vincent Dagadu, has called for a national discourse on the exploitation of the vulnerable in the name of religion.

He says the growing tendency for some pastors to hide behind the cassock to amass wealth and perpetrate sexual and other forms of abuse against the people must stop.

Rev. Dagadu was speaking at the 40th Anniversary of the Bolgatanga Evangelical Presbyterian Church Choir.