UNIVERSITY OF GHANA COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES INSTITUTE OF AFRICAN STUDIES INTERACTION BETWEEN RELIGION AND POLITICS OF GHANA’S 2016 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION BY EDWIN BOATENG AFRIYIE (10550403) THIS THESIS IS SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON, IN FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF THE DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (PHD.) DEGREE IN AFRICAN STUDIES JUNE, 2020 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ii DECLARATION I hereby declare that with the exception of quotations, which I have exhaustibly acknowledged, this research is a personal effort carried out under the supervision of the under listed supervisory members. This thesis has not been submitted either in whole or in part for a degree anywhere. I hereby remain solely responsible for all shortcomings in the entire work. EDWIN BOATENG AFRIYIE (CANDIDATE) SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE AKAwedoba PROF. ALBERT KANSLI AWEDOBA DR KOJO OPOKU AIDOO (CHAIR SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE) (SUPERVISOR) DR STEPHEN OWOAHENE ACHEAMPONG (SUPERVISOR) DATE JUNE, 23RD 2020 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh iii DEDICATION To the Church of Jesus Christ of Nazareth in Ghana, Africa and beyond. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Without the slightest intention to associate anybody with errors that may be in this thesis, it is my candid desire to acknowledge with gratitude the assistance offered to me on my journey to bring closure to my doctoral project in African Studies at IAS, University of Ghana, Legon. The journey, though not easy, was all the more rewarding, thanks to the demonstration of interest in the academic progress of students by lecturers, of which I much benefitted. The desire of Lecturers to see students making progress and being able to finish on schedule was undoubted. The guidance and advise offered me at different times by lecturers of the Institute during seminars and personal interactions with them in their individual offices are highly appreciated. To the chair of my Supervisory Committee, whose teaching, supervision, and counseling sustained my momentum to the finish, I extend my first gratitude and thanks. I am also grateful to Dr Kojo Opoku Aidoo for his supervision and guidance. He took the trouble to follow up on my thesis progression, and encouraged me to meet my timelines but without rush to ensure that my final work passed the test. Thanks to Dr Stephen Owoahene Acheampong, also one of supervisors. He made time to listen, and spoke with me anytime I approached him. I am grateful to Prof Elizabeth Amoah of the Religions Department, University of Ghana. She showed interest in working with me in my research learning experience to investigate taboos as social control mechanism among the Akyem Kotoku. My acknowledgement goes to Prof Kojo Amanor, Prof. Avorgbedo, Dr Edward Nangbie, Dr Alhassan, Prof Samuel Ntewusu, Dr Chika Mba, Dr Grace Adasi, and Dr Kwansa for taking interest in the progress of my thesis writing. Prof Esi Sutherland occasionally boosted my morale by saying, keep reading. I must also acknowledge Prof Joseph Yaro, Prof. Duodu, Prof Ama De Graft Aikins, Dr. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh v Dzisa, Dr Ama Darkwa, and Dr Biney, who taught me through the interfaculty teaching programme. Dr Ebenezer Ayensu of the History section of IAS deserves special thanks for offering historical insights on the symbolization of cultural materials as a recurring political practice in electoral seasons in Ghana. After my report on the progression of thesis at the faculty, he took interest in reminding me that it was necessary not to ignore the usage of traditional symbolism as an element in the repertoire of Ghanaian Presidential election practices. Many thanks’ Dr., for teaching me and ensuring my work was not deficient. Aside from the academia some individuals gave me invaluable assistance to aid my field research. I am grateful to Nana Baffour Asabre Ababio Kogyawoaso III, Sumankwaahene of the Asantehene, Otumfoͻ Osei Tutu II. He was resourceful in providing me tutelage in some Akan concepts that enriched my understanding. I am equally grateful to Nana Aning Amoako, head of the Akyem Kotoku Toa family. He was similarly resourceful in some Akan terms of relevance to my exploration. Equally, I am grateful to Nana Serwaa Akoto of Afretia, Kumasi, for similar assistance. On the collegiate level, my course mate, Julius Akoto Brown, provided me with a compendium of literary resources – journals, e-books, and reference cites that eased my referencing effort. Rev. Badu Amoah, Ph.D. cohort penultimate to my year-group at the IAS, facilitated my audience with relevant personalities within religion and politics across the regions of Ghana. Participants in FGDs were drawn from among those personalities thanks to his influence as the Executive Secretary of the National Peace, Asante Region. Above all, I am indebted to Yaa Foriwaa, my dear wife for her immense support. I am most grateful to her. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh vi ACRONYMS AFRC Armed Forces Revolutionary Council ARPS Aborigines Rights Protection Society ATR African Traditional Religion BJP Bharatiya Janata Party CCG Christian Council of Ghana CJPC Catholic Justice and Peace Commission CoC Code of Conduct CPP Convention Peoples Party CSGs Civil Society Groups EOCO Economic and Organized Crimes Office FGDs Focus Group Discussions GBC Ghana Broadcasting Corporation GCBC Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference IAS Institute of African Studies IGs Interest Groups ISD Information Services Department NABCo National Builders Corps NCCE National Commission for Civic Education NCCK National Council of Churches of Kenya University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh vii NDC National Democratic Congress NGOs Non-Governmental Organizations NPC National Peace Council NPP New Patriotic Party PDA Preventive Detention Act PNDC Provisional National Defense Council PNP Peoples National Party SC Supreme Court UGAG Unemployed Graduates Association of Ghana UGCC United Cold Coast Convention ZANU-PF Zimbabwe African National Union: Patriotic Front . University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh viii ABSTRACT The thesis examined the ‘interaction between religion and politics of Ghana’s 2016 presidential election.’ By so doing, it explored the rudimentary elements, nuances and psychosocial dimensions as an analytical construct to guide religion and politics interaction discourse. Also were interaction, political identity, issues, tools and consequences explored. Implicated in the exploration was the pre-Republican revolutionary era due to its direct bearing on the 2016 interaction. Specifically, it framed political campaign issues to inform the interaction’s worry about public corruption, economic difficulties with underlying sensitivities and imaginations. There was scrutiny of the covert meanings and observable behaviour such as attitudes, expressions and significations embedding the interaction due to their meaning-making and messaging that opened understanding to the interaction. Arguments about the driving forces of the interaction premised on the push and pull of identity, loyalty, economics, psycho-social and self-interest reasons. These reflected cosmological realities that demanded interpretation, understanding and signification. The discursive theory and its logos, pathos, ethos elements, symbolic interactionism, with verstehen as the theoretical anchor, undergirded the exploration. A a survey, in-depth and focus group discussions tools alongside a purposive sample size of ninety-five participants across seven of the old regional capitals of Ghana were undertaken. Analyses of findings mediated the narrative, symbolic, archival and field data sources. Public discourse and perceptions engaging scholars about the interface of religion and politics result in dialectical comments from religion, history, sociology, politics, psychology and journalistic sites to denote interpretation and analysis of the phenomenon. This conclusion, among others, is not to be simplistically derived. The study recommended the sensitization of the interaction as a public discourse concern to be encouraged through the school system beginning from the final year in the High School. It also recommended orientation of the public for benign and non-hostile participation. The fashioning of an evaluative scheme for the discourse of religion and politics interaction referencing its rudimentary elements, nuances, and psychosocial dimensions is the contribution to knowledge of the thesis. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ix TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ..................................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION ........................................................................................................................ iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................... iv ACRONYMS ........................................................................................................................... vi ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................... viii TABLE OF CONTENTS ....................................................................................................... ix LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................ xvi LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................. xvii CHAPTER ONE ..................................................................................................................... 1 0.1 General Overview of the Study................................................................................... 1 1.1 Contextual and Discursive Elements ............................................................................... 4 1.2 Background to the Problem ....................................................................................... 5 1.2.1 The problem of Study .......................................................................................... 7 1.2.2 Research Objective .............................................................................................. 8 1.2.3 Research Scope .................................................................................................... 8 1.2.4 Relevance................................................................................................................... 9 1.2.5 Research Questions ............................................................................................. 9 1.2.6 Research Significance......................................................................................... 10 1.3 Design........................................................................................................................ 10 1.4 Methodology ............................................................................................................. 11 1.4.1 Survey and Interviews........................................................................................ 12 1.4.2 Sampling ............................................................................................................ 12 1.4.3 Validity ................................................................................................................14 1.4.4 Data processing and analysis............................................................................. 15 1.5. Definition of Terms ................................................................................................... 15 1.5.1 The State ............................................................................................................ 16 1.5.2 Religion.............................................................................................................. 16 1.5.3 Politics................................................................................................................ 19 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh x 1.5.4 Interaction .......................................................................................................... 19 1.6. Limitations ................................................................................................................ 20 1.6.1 Delimitations ...................................................................................................... 20 1.7. Organization of Thesis .............................................................................................. 20 1.8. Summary ................................................................................................................... 22 1.9. Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 22 CHAPTER TWO ...................................................................................................................24 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND REVIEW OF RELEVANT LITERATURE...24 2.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 24 2.1 Theoretical Underpinning – Symbolic Theory, Rhetoric and Verstehen .................. 26 2.2 Literature Review ...................................................................................................... 30 2.2.1 Formal Endorsement of Interaction Between Religion and Politics in Ghana...... 31 2.2.2 The Realm of Interaction Between Religion and Politics ……..............................31 2.2.3 Ideological Impact on Society and Consequence on Interaction Between Religion and Politics ………………………………………………………………………. 32 2.2.4 The Uniqueness of Interaction Between Religion and Politics in Anglophone Africa……………………….............................................................34 2.2.5 The Interaction During Pre-Independence Ghana ................................................ 36 2.2.6 Christian Religiosities and Participation in the Interaction ..................................... 37 2.2.7 Islamic Religiosities and Participation in the Interaction……………………….... 38 2.3 The Interaction in Ghana’s 4th Republican Era ......................................................... 41 2.4. The Coincidence of Mission and Politics .................................................................. 44 2.4.1 Clergy Partisanship in the Interaction ..................................................................... 46 2.4.2 Politico-religious Myths as Tools of Religion and Politics Interaction ............. 48 2.4.3 Religion as a Transformative Mechanism of Politics ....................................... 50 2.5. Interaction Between Religion and Politics as a Channel of Religion and State Relations.......................................................................................................................52 2.6 Dynamics of the Interaction ........................................................................................ 56 2.7 Images, Cultural Materials and Language Usage, Accessories of Religion and Politics Interaction …………………………………………………………………...57 2.7.1 Religion and Politics Implies a Synthesis of Ideals of Disparate Spaces…...............60 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh xi 2.8 Summary ........................................................................................................................ 60 2.9 Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………….61 CHAPTER THREE ...........................................................................................................64 THE RUDIMENTS OF INTERACTION BETWEEN RELIGION AND POLITICS AND IMPLICATIONS ........................................................................................................ 64 3.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 64 3.1 Civil Society Groups, Root of the Interaction……………………. ...........................66 3.1.2 The Trigger - Theorizing the Interaction ……………….................................. 68 3.2 Mechanics of the Interaction …….……………………………… ..............................73 3.3 Nature of the Interaction ………………………….................................................... 74 3.4 Behaviour of the Interaction……………………………........................................... 75 3.5 Objective of the Interaction……….………………………........................................ 76 3.6 Tools and Methods of the Interaction….……………………………........................ 77 3.7 Ethos of the Interaction …….…………………………............................................. 79 3.8 Methodology of the Interaction……………………………...................................... 80 3.9 Implications.............................................................................................................. 82 3.9.1 Summary ............................................................................................................ 84 3.9.2 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 85 CHAPTER FOUR .................................................................................................................90 A SYNERGY OF CONSEQUENCE, GHANA’S 2016 INTERACTION BETWEEN RELIGION AND POLITICS ..................................................................................................................................................86 4.0 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 86 4.1 Political Identity and Issues of Dominant Ideologies Impacting the Interaction of 2016.................................................................................................................................. 88 4.1.2 Social Democracy and Capitalism ..................................................................... 89 4.2 Voices of the 2016 Interaction…………………...................................................... 92 4.2.1 The Philosophy of ‘Chosenness’ and Faith …………………..…………92 4.2.2 The coincidence of biblical iconic names as divine endorsement ...................... 93 4.2.3 Sacred and Profane Composers of Religious Tunes, Agents of Political Persuasion.........................................................................................................94 4.2.4 The Call for Prayer as a Political Maneuver .................................................... 95 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh xii 4.2.5 Religious Framing of Campaign Launch........................................................... 95 4.2.6 Religious Validation .......................................................................................... 97 4.2.7 Prophetism and Religious Opportunism ...............................................................98 4.3 Tools of the 2016 Interaction …………………......................................................101 4.3.1 The Logos, Pathos and Ethos Rhetorical Tools ………………………………. 101 4.3.2 Use of Religious Mantra and Hymns ............................................................... 104 4.3.3 The Deployment of Mmomome as a Cultural Communicative Mechanism ... 104 4.3.4 Religion and Technology conflated for Political Persuasion ........................... 106 4.4. Implications........................................................................................................... 108 4.5 Summary ...................................................................................................................110 4.6 Conclusion …........................................................................................................... 111 CHAPTER FIVE .................................................................................................................117 THE PSYCHO-SOCIAL DIMENSIONS AND NUANCES OF GHANA’S 2016 INTERACTION BETWEEN RELIGION AND POLITICS...........................................112 5.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 112 5.1 The Republican Era and its Bearing on Ghana’s 2016 Interaction...................................................................................................................113 5.2 Social Memory on the Interaction of 2016 ………………………………..............115 5.3 Nuances of the Interaction with 2016 in View......................................................... 118 5.3.1 Political Culture…………………………………………………………………118 5.3.2 Ethno-historical Re-experience ........................................................................ 121 5.3.3. Eulogization and Ideologization Rewards ....................................................... 123 5.3.4. A Clash of Cultures .......................................................................................... 124 5.3.5. Cultural Materials Re-symbolization ............................................................... 125 5.3.5.1 Typical Instances of Re-symbolization in 2016 ..............................................126 5.4 Summary................................................................................................................. 129 5.5. Conclusion................................................................................................................. 130 CHAPTER SIX ................................................................................................................... 131 FIELD INVESTIGATIONS, OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH FINDINGS............................................................................................................................ 131 6.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 131 6.1 Quantitative Data Display ....................................................................................... 131 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh xiii 6.1.1 Survey Questionnaire ....................................................................................... 132 6.2 Qualitative Data Display......................................................................................... 134 6.2.1 In-depth interviews .............................................................................................. 135 6.2.2 In-depth Interviews with Traditional Leaders in Kumasi………………………..135 6.2.3 In-depth Interviews with Muslim Clerics in Kumasi ....................................... 137 6.2.4 In-depth Interviews with Christian Clerics in Kumasi .................................... 138 6.2.5 In-depth Interviews with Politicians in Kumasi............................................... 139 6.3 In-depth Interview with a Gospel Musician in Kumasi .......................................... 141 6.4 FGDs in Kumasi ...................................................................................................... 142 6.5 In-depth interviews with Traditional chiefs in Accra.............................................. 144 6.5.1 In-depth interview with a Muslim cleric in Kawshieman, Accra.................... 146 6.5.2 In-depth interviews with Christian clerics in Accra ........................................ 147 6.6 FGDs in Accra ......................................................................................................... 148 6.7 ………………………………………………………………………………………150 6.8 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 151 CHAPTER SEVEN ............................................................................................................ 153 ORGANIZING OBSERVATIONS FROM FIELD EXPLORATION OF RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL INTERACTION OF GHANA’S 2016 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION..…………………………………………………….153 7.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 153 7.1 Survey Data Display................................................................................................ 153 7.1.2 Summary of Survey Data Display ................................................................... 155 7.2 In-depth Interviews Data Display ........................................................................... 156 7.2.1 Summary of In-depth Interviews Display........................................................ 161 7.3 FGDs Data Display ................................................................................................. 163 7.3.1 Summary of FGDs Data Display ......................................................................... 163 7.4 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................164 CHAPTER EIGHT .............................................................................................................166 CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONTRIBUTION…………………166 8.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 166 8.1 Findings ................................................................................................................... 168 8.2 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 169 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh xiv 8.3 Limitations.............................................................................................................. 171 8.4 Recommendation ...................................................................................................... 172 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh xv REFERENCES ……........................................................................................................175 APPENDIX I .....................................................................................................................214 APPENDIX II ….................................................................................................................215 APPENDIX III…….………………………………………………………………………216 APPENDIX IV….…………………………………………………………………………217 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh xvi LIST OF TABLES Table 6.1 How may one explain religion and politics interaction of 2016 presidential election of Ghana?......................................................................................................... 132 Table 6.2 Why was religion and politics interaction of Ghana’s 2016 presidential election of concern to many citizens? ……………………………………133 Table 6.3 Based on Ghana’s 2016 presidential election, how may future religion and politics interaction be more beneficial to the country? ................................................. 134 Table 6.4 The distribution of interviews in Accra ......................................................... 151 Table 6.5 The distribution of interviews in Kumasi .....................................................151 Table 7.1 Attitude to Religion and Politics Interaction ................................................ 157 Table 7.2 The correlation of doubt between the public confidence and 2016 religion and politics interaction’s capacity to deliver on public expectation………… 159 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh xvii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 Theoretical undergirding of the research. ...........................................................25 Figure 2.2 The practical application of theories underpinning of the interaction between religion and politics of Ghana’s 2016 presidential election. ............................................... 26 Figure 4.1 Illustrating ‘interaction’ and ‘political identity’ and ideological implications and impact as 2016 religion and politics interaction .............................................................87 Figure 4.2 President Mahama seated with Rev. S. K. Ankrah, the General Overseer, during the 2016 ......................................................................................................................... 93 Figure 4.3 Nana Akufo-Addo framing politics in religious language and proclaiming, ‘‘the battle is the Lord’s.’’ ........................................................................................................96 Figure 4.4 The Adum Ramseyer Presbyterian Church at a Sunday service in June 2018 ………………. …………………………………………………………………………………………………102 Figure 4.5 President Mahama on a billboard pointing upward and apparently posturing religion, belief in God at a 2016 presidential political rally. ............................................ 107 Figure 5.1 A diagram exposing the psycho-social dimensions and nuances of 2016 religion and politics interaction…………............................................................................. 113 Figure 5.2 NPP paraphernalia…………………………...................................................... 119 Figure 5.3 NDC (Party paraphernalia). ............................................................................... 119 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 1 CHAPTER ONE 0.1 General Overview of the Study Given that it is an institution that is integral to the lives of many individuals, some scholars have commented on the critical role and part that religion plays in a country’s culture. In connection with this sentiment, Ellis and Ter Harr (1998), have argued that ‘politics in Africa cannot be fully understood without reference to religious ideals that are widely shared in societies.’ For them, people understand and interpret the world through the prism of religion. While its role in life and its place at every level of society is evident, investigating how religious and political interaction has shaped the political landscape in Ghana’s Fourth Republic deserves investigation, looking into the future. The observation that religion continues to expand its frontiers in Ghana even to encroach on the public space1 is evidence of a shift from her secular state status. This development coupled with the observation that politics continues to frame itself in religion sustains the shrinking of the secularity of politics in a country like Ghana. This growing threat to Ghana’s secularity deriving as colonial legacy2 has and by convention is motivation of this thesis. The growing interaction between religion and politics3 is focused on the quest of the thesis to satisfy growing public curiosity, with emphasis on electoral politics in Ghana. The primacy of politics to critical citizenry concerns i.e., education, health, infrastructure development, economics, security etc., which are a responsibility of politics was the reason for isolating politics in its relationship with religion which forms a dominant 1 Christopher Nyinevi, and Edmund N. Amasah. ‘The Separation of Church and State Under Ghana’s First Republic.’ Journal of Politics and Law 8(4). 2Pobee (1992, p. 8) has it on record that since 1959 the State and the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG) have maintained the understanding that the two bodies will cooperate in the celebration of State events in the categories of (a) emergencies and (b) special annual commemorations. 3 Meyer, B. ‘Religious and Secular, ‘Spiritual’ and ‘Physical’ in Ghana.’ In What Matters? Ethnographies of Value in a (Not So) Secular Age, 86–118. New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 2012. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2 segment of the Ghanaian population. This dominant segment demands comprehension of the relationship for an informed response to politics. This thesis thus, helps fill the gap in the literature by exploring the interaction between religion and politics of Ghana’s 2016 presidential election, and providing what the thesis calls a structure to guide the discourse of religion and politics interaction referencing its rudiments, nuances, and psychosocial dimensions. The relationship between religion and politics suggests an interaction. The interaction (of variables) between religion and politics of Ghana’s 2016 presidential election is the topic of the thesis. The disaggregated and institutionalized cultic entity that identifies with the deeper yearnings of men through beliefs and practices that are acted through rituals, songs and incantations is what is here defined as religion.4 The rhetoric, activities, songs and prophesies of the agents of religion including similar activities of non-religious musicians who mimicked religion for the sake of the interaction in 2016 were investigated. Emphasis was placed on the dominant religions namely African Traditional religion, Christianity and Islam. Politics5 here refers to the effort to access or reserve power using structures of electoral platforms, campaign activities, persuasive communications, public discourse and dialogue. The actions of the flagbearer of the incumbent political party and the leading opposition candidate framed the politics of 2016 presidential election that was explored. Their activities, expressions and rhetoric were analyzed. Existing literature has discussed religion and politics variously touching on the synergy of mission and politics (Dickson 1994), the coexistence of religion and politics 4 The definition of religion is the authors understanding of religion as used in the thesis nonetheless, it recognizes the definition used by Bronislaw Malinowski (1948, p. 1). See also, Thomas A. Idinopulos, 1998, CrossCurrents, Vol. 48, No 3, pp. 366-380. 5 Politics as used here refers to the authors understanding as used in the thesis but with recognition of authorities such as Andrew Haywood (1992, 2004); Alan Ball (1988). University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 3 in a symbiotic association (Aboagye-Mensah, 1994), and clergy partisanship in religion and politics interaction (Chitando, 2000) among others as would be found fully in the literature review section. A lack of exhaustive discussion of the rudiments, psychosocial dimensions and nuances of religion and political interaction appeared as a gap in the literature. Hence, the research aimed to provide a basic structure to guide the discourse of religion and political interaction referencing its rudiments, nuances and psychosocial dimensions. In this regard, the interface of ‘interaction’ and ‘political identity,’ issues, tools and consequences of Ghana’s 2016 interaction was investigated. Additionally, the psychosocial dimensions and nuances of the interaction within Ghana’s Fourth Republic, the republic’s relationship and impact on the interaction including the imaginations and sensitivities of the public were explored. Intrinsic with implications and dynamics, with a bearing on the electoral politics of Ghana, the study aimed to unravel covert meanings behind religion and politics’ interaction beyond the obvious. Hence, the actions of religion and politics were probed for the enrichment of insight and understanding of the quest of the thesis. Politics and its use of religious clichés of the 2016 electoral period was focused. During the electoral campaign such rhetoric as ‘the battle is the Lord’s’ and ‘God is the one who installs a king’ served respectively to brand the politics of the 2016 presidential election represented by Mr. John Dramani Mahama and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo. The politics of the two men cast the campaign in religious framing on the backdrop of Ghanaian religious sensitivity and automatically infused the engagement of their politics and interaction with religion. Interaction as in previous times, integrated religion and politics for good intents and purposes. This, as a mechanism to win public endorsement, was not free from manipulation of public opinion, maligning of opponents University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 4 and below-the-belt actions. Such behaviours associated with other concerns as in the past, provoked the response of religion that unavoidably interlocked the latter in interaction with politics. Through engagement with politics and other communicative channels, the views of religion were amply registered. Religion and political interaction are not a recent development in the Ghanaian socio-political space. This thesis has reviewed the historical antecedents of the practice, with roots in the colonial and missionary era from where structures established have sustained the interaction until now. The uniqueness of the practice in Africa including Ghana and variously noted by scholars have been reviewed. 1.1 Contextual and Discursive Elements The context of the thesis is electoral politics referencing the interaction between religion and politics of Ghana’s 2016 presidential election. The pre-colonial era, to the postcolonial Ghanaian experience of the phenomenon are within the background of the discourse. Anglophone African markers of religion and political interaction are within focus of the discussion. An important discursive element was the recall of the historical antecedents of the emergence of civil society groups, as players in the public arena whose roles interlink politics. It is in this linkage that is religion and politics interaction has since found relevance and religion recognized under the social categorization taxonomy. The manifestations of religion and political interaction across the Ghanaian religious landscape have been highlighted to show how the phenomenon is displayed across the religious spectrum. The discursive elements included the rudimentary elements and implications of religion and politics interaction, the interface of ‘interaction’ and political identity,’ issues and consequences of the 2016 interaction, as well as the psychosocial dimensions University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 5 and nuances of the interaction within the Fourth Republican Ghana and finally, the field data and findings. 1.2 Background to the Problem The observation of the general public that religion and politics interaction continue to heighten during voting seasons in Ghana created an increased curiosity to re-examine the phenomenon. The 2012 election petition in court had left in its trail fear and increased anxiety for 2016 elections to question the effectiveness of religion and political interaction in a Republican dispensation. These warranted a search into religion and political interaction of the 2016 to satisfy public curiosity. Voting seasons each year have revived interest in investigating the motivation behind religion and politics interaction. Theories of ordinary people seeking to explain the practice seemed grounded in push and pull factors. In the attempt of Lee (1969) who theorized the driving forces of human migration, he identified two forces namely push and pull factors. He explained the push factors as the internal driving forces, and the pull factors as the external forces responsible for the activity of migration. Thus, push and pull drive human activity and desire. This implies a relationship between motivation and action as coincident in religion and political interaction, as theories of ordinary people sought to explain. Public interest in religion and political interaction in the post-2012 election saga and implication, coupled with the seeming shift of Ghana from its religion and state status, inspired its interrogation for answers on illuminating explanations, including motivations behind the practice, strategies, and impact assessment of the interaction. The attempt to explain the interaction warranted critical enquiry to provide satisfactory answers as alluded. This needed a reinforced interest in exploration of the interaction of the 2016 presidential election. It implicated the politics of the same period University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 6 spearheaded by John Mahama and Akufo-Addo and the expressed interchange of religion and politics in an enquiry. The available literature on the phenomenon included Ghanaian and other African authorships. There certainly are aspects of the phenomenon yet to be scrutinized, some of which were what this thesis had focused on. The exploration of the rudimentary elements of religion and politics interaction, psycho-social dimensions and nuances remain as a gap in the literature which begs the question in terms of what the nature, tools, ethos, methodology and framing of religion and politics interaction were, particularly in 2016. These new areas of exploration are to add to the general canon of religion and political interaction. This research therefore backgrounds the discussion of Ghanaian scholars whose works are illuminating to the problem of this thesis. Pobee (1988), reported on the relationship between the church and state under Nkrumah within the focal period of his work. This relationship was marked by political manoeuverings intertwined with the exploitation of religion. The result was the pitting of religion, especially the Church and politics in necessary but avoidably rancorous engagements. Pobee (1988) relied mainly on a historiographic analysis of events in presenting a narrative of facts at the time. Pobee (1991), addressed the topic, of the coincidence of religion and politics with Africa in mind but with emphasis on the turbulent regimes of military rule in Ghana. He projected the role played by religion in advocacy against excesses and the latter’s mediation involving the ruling military regime, organized groups and civil society. He maintained the style of historiographical narration in this work albeit with religious reflection as in his work of 1988. Dovlo (1995), extended the discussion of the coincidence of religion and politics situating it in the role of religious bodies in Ghana’s University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 7 political development process. He used the appeal to ethnopolitical reflection to argue his assertions, drawing from practices of antiquity and contemporary society. Addo (1999) extensively discussed the use of religion by Kwame Nkrumah to achieve his political vision for Ghana. In the view of Addo, the unification and independence of nationhood of Ghana from a primordial status primarily was the centrepiece of Nkrumah’s independence project. According to Addo (1999), Nkrumah achieved two objectives through his use of religion. He instrumentalized religion to rally support and reconfigured existing ethnic groups as a means to dissipate ethnic and chiefly loyalties. These were achieved through the utility of religion to hone nationalistic and patriotic sentiments for unified nationhood. In the assessment of Addo (1999), those achievements spawned developments that are analyzed in his book. To his mind, the Ghana project was consummated on the effort of Nkrumah, which is what Addo examined through biographic and ethno-historiographic lenses. The emerging issues in thematic terms were about background information, motive, ethnography, the transcending of ethnic and sectional attachments, political ideology and proclivity to win or maintain political mandate as driving the rhetoric of politics. For religion, leverage to achieve the expression of godliness, integrity and good governance by politics vindicated by the rule of law, human rights, freedom, development, equal rights and justice impelled their rhetoric. The work of the scholars projected the convergence of religion and politics as grounds for religion and politics interaction. 1.2.1 The Problem of Study In light of the background information and literature gap, ‘the absence of exhaustive comprehension as a basis to provide a basic structure to guide the discourse University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 8 interaction between religion and politics, referencing its rudiments, nuances and psychosocial dimensions’ was the problem of the study. In this regard, the interface of ‘interaction’ and ‘political identity,’ issues, tools and consequences of Ghana’s 2016 interaction was investigated. Additionally, the Fourth Republic’s relationship and impact on the interaction including the imaginations and sensitivities of the public were explored. Also scrutinized were the covert meanings and observable behaviour i.e., attitudes, expressions and significations entailed in religion and political interaction. The correlation of doubt between public confidence and the 2016 religion and political interaction’s capacity to deliver on public expectation was not overlooked. Against the backdrop of the problem of the study is the basic assumption and thesis of the investigation which states that the interaction between religion and politics continually engages attention and provokes critical questions to demand illuminating explanations to satisfy public curiosity. This justifies the effort to provide answers. 1.2.2 Research Objective The objective of the study is four-fold as follows: To demystify religion and political interaction by bringing illumination and understanding of the practice for informed and responsible response of the public going forward; to interpret and deconstruct the activities, dialogue and rhetoric of religion and politics interplay of the 2016 residential electoral season; to expose the strategies and motives of parties i.e. religion and politics; and continuing in the previous line of inquiry in the area of religion and politics as an activity in the public space. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 9 1.2.3 Research Scope The scope was interaction involving religion and politics and the express manifestations of the two variables through the activities, rhetoric, and symbolic expressions of the involved parties i.e., religion and politics. These included the actions, prophecies, rhetoric, visions, songs, and statements by agents both in religion and politics. The historical roots of the practice from pre-colonial to post-colonial Ghana, and historic Anglophone African markers of the practice fit into the scope. Explanations of the Ghanaian religious kaleidoscope to bring the understanding of the nature of the varied involvement of religion in religion and political interaction were within scope. Examples of religion and political interaction from the Republican eras of Ghana including the 4th Republic, and similar practices in some African countries were within the scope. 1.2.4 Relevance The relevance of the research lies in the following areas: i. Highlighting the rudimentary elements of religion and politics interaction and its psychosocial dimensions as a fundamental evaluative scheme to the discourse of religion and politics interaction. ii. Consolidating the argument that the push and pull factors of religion and political interaction is explained by different forces namely identity, loyalty, economics, psycho-social and self-interest reasons. The reasons fall into overt and covert categories for mutual exploitation by religion and politics. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 10 1.2.5 Research Questions The research into religion and political interaction provoked interest in the following questions: 1. How may one explain the interaction between religion and politics of Ghana’s 2016 presidential election? 2. Why was interaction between religion and politics in Ghana’s 2016 presidential election of concern to many citizens? 3. Based on Ghana’s 2016 presidential election, how may future interaction between religion and politics be more beneficial to the country? 4. If there are reasons other than the above, kindly state them behind the questionnaire. 1.2.6 Research Significance The re-examination was significant in the following ways: i. Benchmarking interaction between religion and politics discourse. ii. Exposing the psycho-social dimensions and nuances of interaction between religion and politics. iii. Illuminating the bearing of political identity and ideology on religion and politics. iv. Highlighting the utility of symbols, cyphers and myths of interaction between religion and politics in Ghana. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 11 1.3 Design The research design6 was qualitative and cross-sectional. This means that it concentrated on verbal descriptions and explanations looking at the research investigation within a limited time which was 2016 religion and political interaction of Ghana’s presidential election. It followed an interpretive7 paradigm in an explorative search of the expressions, rhetoric, symbols and cyphers of religion and politics to form the blueprint of the thesis. This means that a particular way of looking at religion and political interaction with a view to explain it in terms of the way they are expressed either in public speech, and other forms of communication either verbal or non-verbal were followed. Information from field investigation i.e., the public who were interviewed served as primary data sources and was drawn from respondents and participants that included chiefs, clerics, politicians, musicians, institutions and ordinary citizens. Newspaper reportage, online resources, storylines and other data platforms served as secondary sources and provided records on the interaction. These records covered interactions in places and venues such as the seat of government, party headquarters and congregational meetings including synods, conventions and mass/worship settings. Secondary data included correspondence, communiques and press releases. 6 Yin, K. Robert. (1989). Case Study of Research: Design and Methods. California: Sage Publications (p.29). 7 Interpretive methodology is directed at understanding a phenomenon from an individual’s perspective, investigating interaction among individuals including the historical and cultural contexts which people inhabit (Creswell, 2009, p. 8). University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 12 1.4 Methodology The triangulation method which permits a combined collection of quantitative and qualitative data was applied.8 The method allows the mixing and matching of various common elements according to a particular researcher’s preference (Elliott and Timulak, 2005, p. 147). A justification for the triangulation method is that “the researcher gathers both quantitative and qualitative data, compares results from the analysis of both data and makes an interpretation as to whether the results from both support or contradict each other” (Creswell, 2002, p.565). The usefulness of triangulation in this research lies in the weakness of one method benefitting from the strength of the other. This meant that where verbal descriptions were weak in explaining some scenarios arising from findings, the use of figures bridged the deficiency gap to give a full picture. 1.4.1 Survey and Interviews In collecting quantitative data, a semi-structure guided survey was used as an appropriate method of enquiry to generate reliable generalization data outcomes. This method enabled the researcher to administer questionnaires across seven regions of the country. Due to the selective nature of the sampling technique participants and respondents were better able to respond providing useful data. It reduced interaction time on the field because of better understanding and hence the research effort was not over-burdening. 8 This method also called descriptive–interpretive qualitative research method(s) is known by several other names. See (Henwood and Pigeon, 1992; Strauss and Corbin, 1998; Giorgi, 1975; Wertz, 1983; Packer and Addison, 1989; Jarman & Osborn, 1999; and Hill & Williams, 1997). University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 13 FGDs 9 and in-depth interviews were applied as additional qualitative data collection tools. Interviews (Patton & Cochran, 2002) were preceded by a pretest (Kothari, 1985, p.97) using the same tools in a pilot study in Kumasi before the main study. 1.4.2 Sampling Purposive sampling guided the collection of views of politicians and religious people including the general public. The sampling choice was based on purposeful selective observation (Babbie, 2007, p.111) which made room for the operationalization of the variables namely interaction, religion and politics. A sample size of seventy respondents for a survey, and twenty-five participants in in-depth interviews and FDGs best suited the sampling frame as more illustrative than representative. Participants in the field survey were first degree educated and had voted in two presidential elections for reasons of better appreciation of questions. Through an informal interaction it was possible to determine participants who qualified to participate in the survey even if we cannot say this was a precise measure of their social standing. Regional capitals known for their reverberating political significance and affording quicker access to regional ethnics, informed their selection for the survey. Three old regional capitals the Northern, Upper East and Upper West were exempted for the sake of funding difficulties. It was not difficult to select participants for the in-depth interviews because they focused on people of significance and prominence whose roles and responsibilities 9 See (Krueger, 1988, 1988, 1988; Krueger & Richard, Kean, 1988; Krueger, Richard and Anne 2000; Merton, Fiske & Kendall, 1990; and Mongari, 1997). University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 14 acquainted them with political intricacies and had an appreciable sense of political choice and its implications and consequences. Focus group participants were selected through the assistance of contact persons through whose influence their consent and participation were ensured. According to the contact persons, the participants were selected due to three reasons namely willingness, political partisanship, and influence. The selected numbers, of each tool though illustrative, were intended to reflect the views of that segment of the Ghanaian population. Recognizing all constraints and the fact that a sample size can always be drawn from the sample population, it would have been expected that a larger sample size could have been covered to have enriched the findings of the research. That notwithstanding, it was good to choose a feasible sample size for purposes of illustration and representative views presentation. Though uneven numbers using different tools were sampled, the triangulation method provided a window of inclusiveness for all the segments of society namely the middle, lower, and upper classes. Of in-depth interviews10 of five participants in Kumasi and eight in Accra and that is, a total of thirteen in were conducted. Chiefs, Christian clerics, Islamic clerics, a musician, and politicians drawn from incumbent and opposition camps were separately interviewed. In-depth interviews gathered data on the attitudes, perceptions and opinions of participants. Although many chiefs should have been interviewed, very few were willing. FGDs were in two separate groups of three participants apiece, making six interviews per city and a total of twelve participants in all, were drawn from eighteen to thirty-nine, and forty years and above in Kumasi and Accra. These interviews were conducted as a follow-up on the survey 10 Interviews were done following Patton & Cochran, (2002). University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 15 gaps in the two geo-political spaces of the Southern and Middle Belts of Ghana. At the time of investigation, Ghana had ten administrative regions. 1.4.3 Validity Measurements were based on nominal and ordinal applications focusing on criterion (related), and construct validity. 11 Criterion validity was applied to the estimation of ‘interactions’ involving religion and politics. In this regard, interaction is the independent variable, and that is, the variable’s interface was measured against political identity, issues, tools and results that were constitutive elements of Ghana’s 2016 interaction. Construct validity was also applied to the measurement of the ideas that defined or described the display of the dependent variables of religion and politics also correlated as religious actions and political actions respectively. The psychosocial dimensions and nuances imbuing the issues of religion and political interaction of the same period were the focal objects of the measurements of those two variables. These measurements were achieved through the avoidance of three errors namely - inadequate pre-occupational explication of the construct; mono-operational bias; and mono- method bias. These were necessary to mirror markers and took care of confidence and relevance issues. 1.4.4 Data processing and analysis The analysis of data specifically centered on the narrative and symbolic aspects of field results and archival sources but subjected to data display, reduction, and verified conclusion (Miles & Huberman, 1994). Data analysis therefore encompassed the 11 “Validity refers to the extent to which an empirical measure adequately reflects the real meaning of the concept under consideration Babbie (2007, p.146). University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 16 rhetoric of religion and politics i.e., the voices of apex personalities and leading figures of the specified fields in Ghana’s presidential electoral season of 2016. The analysis was to identify issues, rubrics of the interaction, and rhetorical strategies adopted in line with Aristotelian rhetorical strategies (Aristotle, 1984). The mode of data processing facilitated nomothetic12 explanations (Babbie, 2007, p.19) that flowed from emerging patterns from the data and shaped them into codes and themes for analysis. 1.5. Definition of Terms The terms following were critical to the examination and were defined for purposes of operationalization and conceptual clarity. Except otherwise referenced, the explication and definition of terms referenced meanings shared by Encyclopedia Britannica Student and Home Edition (2009) and Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary and Thesaurus. 1.5.1 The State The State is used in two senses in the thesis as follows: Firstly, the institutions for governance i.e., establishments, corporations, organizations, agencies and enterprises owned and controlled by government including their personnel who act as agents of the State and the government machinery. Second, the human association differentiated from other social groups in terms of their unanimity of purpose, order and security, laws and their enforcement, geographic boundaries and sovereignty. The implied meaning is that the State as used here possesses independence and the right to 12 In generally related terms. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 17 self-determination. Its authority derives from the general will of the people i.e., the governed (Hobbes, 1985). Rousseau claimed that ‘the idea of the State originated among the Ancient Greeks and was espoused by Aristotle and Plato as the ‘polis,’ the City-State and later by the Romans as the ‘res republica’ or Commonwealth. In the 16th Century, Nicolὸ Machiavelli and Jean Bodin revived the idea of the City-State as the centric force for regaining stability. In the 17th Century, John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau subjected the idea of the State to a reexamination (Ritta & Bondanella, 1988). 1.5.2 Religion Central to the usage of the term religion in the thesis, is the thought about the ‘‘acts and observances associated with the beliefs in supernatural forces, especially those of magic, or with ideas about beings, spirits, ghosts, dead ancestors, or gods’’ (Malinowski, 1948, p. 1). Clifford Geertz (1973), defines religion as a system of symbols which acts to establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic. This definition as put forth by Geertz provokes a cultural but interpretive connotation embedded in religion. The dualized nature of culture in the material and non-material forms as implied by Geertz was most meaningful as symbolic and emblematic to communicate instructions, commands, rituals and celebrations. According to Ostashchuk (2017), ‘signs and symbols are important elements of the religious and national dimensions of communicative space; their poly-semanticity is revealed through human communication, world view, and self-identification.’ These instructions, commands, and rituals are observable in clothing, colours, holy objects University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 18 like sticks, talismans, rings cross either as ornament or pillar on a consecrated ground, grottoes and so on. For example, if a priest was attired in full regalia – made of different articles as part of the complete adornment, it was a sign of a pending or ongoing duty to perform a ritual, a service and so on, in Christianity. If a person was attired in white with cowries strung to the hair and barefooted, it is a sign of a consecrated person or a priest in traditional religion. It is also a message that demanded further that such a person ought to be extended courtesies of respect and kindness believed to be reciprocated with blessings of ancestors and good spirits. Typically, for Muslims, the adornment in a white flowing gown on Friday is a sign of worship and hence, attending the mosque. These as lived experiences in religion are no less, a particular way of life and a cosmological view of religious people. All the more, a strong indication of religion as culture is summed up in the quote as follows: Any attempt to speak without speaking any particular language is not more hopeless than the attempt to have a religion that shall be no religion in particular … Thus, every living and healthy religion has a marked idiosyncrasy. Its power consists in its special and surprising message and in the bias which that revelation gives to life. The vistas it opens and the mysteries it propounds are another world to live in; and another world to live in - whether we expect ever to pass wholly over into it or no - is what we mean by having a religion.13 Geertz’s14 background no doubt endowed him with the eyes to see religion as subsisting in a system of symbols that inspire abiding and lingering moods, with notions reified, and as a source of inspiration. In Ghana and Africa, the participation and use of 13 Santayana. ‘Reason in Religion.’ In: Clifford Geertz, the Interpretation of Cultures. (1973). New York: Basic Books, Inc., p. 87. 14 Clifford Geertz. Biography, Life, Interesting Fact https://www.sunsigns.org/famousbirthdays/d/profile/clifford-geertz/ 2020 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 19 religion by politics transcends sociality and formality with keen expectations of the assistance of God or unseen beings. His understanding of religion however is deistic – purged of the power of miracles, magic and romanticism, and on a level of formality and social interest. Geertz hence departs from Malinowski, (1948, p. 1) whose definition embraces the social/formal and the romantic/metaphysical aspects of religion. Herein, religion is defined both as the disaggregated and institutionalized cultic entity that identifies with the deeper yearnings of men through beliefs and practices that are acted through rituals, songs and incantations. Thus, the usage is embracive and draws from an inclusive perspective. It infers the typical, denominational and associational categories such as the Traditional e.g., Akonnedi shrine, Islamic e.g., Ahmadiyya, Christian e.g., Presbyterians and includes even the liberal, conservative and fundamentalist oriented sects and cults within the broader representation of the faith community in Ghana. 1.5.3 Politics The word politics is variously defined due to its dissimilar and divergently applied usage and interpretations. In this thesis, politics is defined as the display of the effort to access power to rule a nation or the reservation of ruling power using structures including electoral platforms, campaign activities, persuasive communications, public discourse, dialogue and interchange through the utility of rhetorical tools.15 Politics in the context of the thesis exclusively referenced the activities and rhetoric of apex leaders namely the incumbent and the leading opposition candidates of Ghana’s 2016 presidential election. The ideas of Easton (1953), and Tillich (1954) who discuss the 15 Party politics is based on self-governing democracy as opposed to traditional/chiefship politics which inheres in antiquity and attachment to lineage and ancestral stool. See Danquah (1952). University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 20 presence of values and resources as triggering the struggle that transforms a power tussle for hegemony and leadership are inferred in the definition of politics as used in the thesis. Another definition which comes close to the usage of the term in this thesis is ‘the process by which people negotiate and compete in the process of making and executing shared or collective decisions’ (Hague et al., 2016, p. 6). 1.5.4 Interaction In this thesis ‘interaction’ was applied to mean the interchange between religion and politics on the level of apex representatives who were the incumbent president and the main opposition flagbearer as well as the leaders in religion. The agents of religion and politics respectively as clerics, priests, mallams, musicians, singers, and prophets of the two fields were involved in the interaction of Ghana’s 2016 presidential electoral process. 1.6. Limitations The lack of literature on the ‘constitutive elements’ of the interaction, psychosocial analysis of the same interaction and impact were the major constraints on the exploration. 1.6.1 Delimitations Demarcating the thesis is Religion and Politics interaction narrative of Ghana and Anglophone African experiences of religion and politics interaction as narrated by African scholars, including foreign African Studies scholars with an acquaintance of African religion and politics interaction. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 21 1.7. Organization of Thesis The first chapter introduced the problem of the thesis and set out the various parameters that guided its reporting namely the background to the study, objectives of the study, research questions, significance of the study, scope of the study, methodology, data analysis, research design, and definition of terms and so on. Also included in chapter is the definition of conceptual and discursive contexts to clarify the trajectory of sense-making of statements, comments and actions of religion and political interaction. In the second chapter is the discussion of the theoretical framework as grounding for the relationship of interaction involving religion and politics, and the review of relevant literature as insights for the discussion of issues. The third chapter has examined the historicity, rudiments of religion and political interaction, how it begins, its triggers, the nature, the means and the objective. Also outlined and evaluated in the chapter are the tools, methodology, ethos and ramifications of religion and political interaction. The fourth chapter explored the interface of interaction and political identity, issues and results as a means to measure interaction as the independent variable in its interrelation with Ghana’s 2016 religion and politics discourse. The exploration of interaction implicated two variables. First was, personal actions as intrinsically motivated by choices, driven by shared values with relationship to personal interest and achievements of an individual as the face of politics. Second was ‘the concept of identity as a basis for social action arguing that, identity not ideology is a key motive of social action’ (Malesevic, 2006, pp.17-18). Also, the discursive theory suggesting logos, pathos and ethos elements of persuasion (Aristotle, 1984) have been applied to tease out the rhetorical usage associated with the interaction of 2016. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 22 The objective of the fifth chapter was the grasping of the psycho-social, desired and behavioural reactions and their relationship with the responsiveness and participation in the interaction of 2016. Imbuing the psycho-social dimensions and nuances were expressions, rhetoric and actions that helped to measure the dependent variables of religion and politics. The social memory theory described by the experts as the retention, alteration or re-appropriation of social knowledge by the collective (Halbwachs, 1980) facilitated understanding of the entailing issues. Again, the notion of political culture which discusses the ‘‘specific political orientations in terms of attitudes towards the political system and its various parts, and attitudes towards the role of the self in the system’’ (Almond & Verba, 1963) has been invoked in the chapter. Also, in the fifth chapter, the theory of symbolic interactionism which proposes that meaning and attribution to the world around us is a social construct was used to explain the interaction of religion and politics. Verstehen, a concept grounded in the reliance upon the human capacity to understand people from within, through empathy, shared experience and culture was also utilized (Marcello, 1974; Outhwaite, 1976; Hausheer, 1996; Harrington, 2000). Chapter six has reported the observations of field investigation with criticisms, aided by tabular illustrations. In chapter seven, field data has been processed by transforming it into an appropriate form for analysis. Finally, chapter eight reserved the crowning of the report with findings, limitations, conclusions and recommendations. 1.8. Summary The chapter has satisfied the requirement of clarifying and identifying the tools for unpacking the deeper meanings of the phenomenon explored as the thesis problem. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 23 Key actors or agents serving as the face of politics and voices representing religion and politics of Ghana’s 2016 presidential election were given prominence in the chapter due to their rhetorical and symbolic significance. The need to identify key concepts, words, background information, and approaches suited to addressing the problem was satisfied in the chapter to give grounding to the exploration. Thus, chapter one served the purpose of presaging the sapient course of the thesis, expressing the epistemological and methodological designs for clarity of comprehension. 1.9. Conclusion The chapter highlighted the interaction involving religion and politics in Ghana’s 2016 presidential election. That as the investigative piece of the thesis demanded due exploration to fill a gap that background information and literature gap exposed. The first chapter has set the stage for the second chapter which proposes the thesis theoretical framework. The scrutiny of interaction and its relationship with religion and politics and the review of relevant literature is next in line in chapter two. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 24 CHAPTER TWO THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND REVIEW OF RELEVANT LITERATURE 2.0 Introduction In this chapter, a double-foci attempt was made to ground the thesis of this research academically. The subject matter as the chapter title indicates, bifurcates along the theoretical framework of interpretivism and relevant literature trajectories. A logical explanation firstly to make sense of observable patterns and regularities, with the potential to snowball other possibilities was unavoidably demanded by the chapter. A theoretical framework was necessary to aid the attempt to explain the frame of the investigation and analysis of the research findings. Quintessentially, the need to shape and direct this research effort warranted the identification of such theories as were suited to the examination of the thesis. According to Babbie (2007, p.32) ‘theories, by analogy, direct researchers’ flashlights where they will most likely observe interesting patterns of social life.’ As has been implied, the chosen theories were intended to guide the research trajectory. Fundamentally, theories interweave paradigms - a way of seeing, frame of reference or personal view based on an experience of reality. 16 The paradigm of interpretivism was chosen as the philosophical underpinning that explained the observations, symbolisms and language of religion and political interaction in the thesis. Interpretivism was hence married to the theory of symbolic interactionism in 16 In natural science, a paradigm can be supplanted to render it false. The old idea for example that the Sun revolved around the earth is now rejected in favour of the opposite view that, the planets are rather circumnavigating the sun as a modern scientific reality. In social science, paradigms tend to offer alternative views, neither false nor true but useful as a way of seeing. The various ways of looking at phenomena and social reality nonetheless presume unique notions and demand corresponding theories and research methodologies. For example, investigating a mental health problem will differ from gender and sexuality issues in theoretical and methodology appropriations. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 25 association with the discursive theory i.e., rhetoric and verstehen. Accordingly, this research applied a theoretical framework that inferred existing theories to allow data to confirm (deductively) the verity of assumptions intrinsic to the subject of analysis namely ‘interaction’ involving religion and politics as the dependent variables of the exploration. Figure 2.1 below illustrates the theoretical framework of the interaction between religion and politics interaction of Ghana’s 2016 presidential election. It has portrayed the theoretical undergirding of the research. In Figure 2.2 below, the three rings in the outer circle to the top, right and left represent the theories used and encircle religion and political interaction at the center. The ring at the lower part of the outer circle indicates interpretation, understanding and signification as a function of the theoretical framework. The elements within the lower ring as well project and clarify the relationship of the theories and how they feed understanding of the 2016 interaction. Figure 2.1 Theoretical undergirding of the research. Adopted from What is Research Design p. 6. Theory Obs.3 Obs.1 Obs.2 Obs. 4 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 26 Figure 2.2 The practical application of theories underpinning the interaction between religion and politics of Ghana’s 2016 presidential election. 2.1 Theoretical Underpinning – Symbolic Theory, Rhetoric and Verstehen The symbolic interaction theory,17 facilitates understanding of how an image creates meaning in society (see Aboulafia (2016), Mead (1934), Cooley (1902), Cole, 2017), Dewey (1937), Hsiu-ching (2015), Encyclopædia Britannica (2009), Berger 17 Sociologists’ credit Max Weber (1930), with ‘‘the theoretical roots of the interactionist perspective’’ (Cole, 2017). He emphasized the use and interpreting of symbols of communication. Work as framed by Protestant worldview and morality illustrated his theory. To Weber’s mind, Protestant ethic symbolized the value and meaning of work as a vocation dictated by God which inspired the moral meaning of dedication to work. The act of dedication to work, and working hard, coupled with a sense of savings, against squandering it on transient possessions and pleasures transformed the meaning of work. Religion and Politics Interaction of Ghana's 2016 Presidential Election . Theory of Interactionism Theory of Verstehen interpretation understanding signification University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 27 (1969), Burke (1974), (Lin, 2000), Triadafilopoulos (1999, p.745), and Aristotle (1984). Symbolic interactionism theory presupposes that meaning and attribution to the world around us is a social construct. The idea is that humans interpret meanings through shared symbols of society, an emphasis that human behaviour in general and speech, in particular, are not inhered with meaning. Instead, the behaviour of others is interpreted by humans as a sort of symbolic cypher to be decoded (Blumer, 1986). The lack of macro-social interpretation,18 otherwise described as a big-picture analysis of social interactionism is a weakness of the theory. Other weaknesses include a lack of explanation of how people give meaning to symbols, and a failure to account for the concept of power and inequality in society. The theory’s importance lies in its role in taking cognizance of the individuality of personhood and that is, the individual possessing the capacity to choose, exercise free-will and own a personal understanding of things. It is also beneficial in giving importance even to small interactions. This theory helped to explain the symbolic expressions of religion and political interaction such as postures and religious adaptations as observed in the 2016 presidential election.19 Traditionally, rhetoric20 otherwise called the discursive theory, which discusses the art of public speaking i.e., oratory, adopts argumentation as a strategy to expose 18 Jonathan Turner. A Theory of Interactionism. University of California, Riverside, (December 1989). Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266489113 19 Lonnie Athens, (1992, 1997), ‘Power and Inequality in Symbolic Interaction.’ In: College of Arts & Sciences Cooperative for the Humanities and Social Sciences: University of Kentucky. Retrieved https://www.chss@uky.edu 20 Rhetoric evolved from the insights of rhetors or rhetoricians in 5th Century BC in the Greek classical period. Reasons of pedagogy in the benefit of public speaking of Greek citizens, and afterwards for the children of the wealthy within the Roman Empire were its inspiration. As a body of discursive theory, it is identified with orations and as such, intended to persuade. Its dual tasks of analysis and genesis embroil methodology. According to Hsiu-ching (2015) Aristotle viewed rhetoric as a ‘discipline’ and that is, it is something to be taught through a process of education. In the mind of Aristotle therefore, rhetoric imbues pedagogical significance and importance. He conceived rhetoric as a ‘‘verbal skill … employed in certain kinds of speaking’’ (Encyclopædia Britannica 2009). In other words, the skillful employment University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 28 audience interests, values and emotions engaged by the rhetor in a discourse (Horner, 1990). See also, Horner, Leff and Murphy (1995); Winterowd and Gillespie, 1994, Turnbull, 2015). Osha (2002), has inferred two basic tendencies to the description of rhetoric in Africa namely, ‘the valorization of virtues of classical antiquity on the one hand, and the highlighting of an ethos of the cosmopolitanism and the politics of the private and the other.’ Osha (2002), implies the strategic utility of rhetoric for audience persuasion. Its process of communication and argumentation enunciates strategies in the categories of the affective, the cognitive and the ethical with relationship to audience interest, proof of argument, and the perceived credibility of the rhetor. Weaknesses of the rhetorical theory21 lie in its tendency to overlook alternative interpretations of messages. It may also not be sufficiently critical to expose the power dynamics at play in the exchange of messages. Facilitating content analysis of the language of politics and religion and its implications is served by the rhetorical theory. Other strengths include facilitating producing and evaluating effective messages, and identification of ways of meaning-making with reliance on persuasion. Verstehen is understood as one of the numerous ways of understanding in German language. The idea is situated within the frame of interpretivism and insists of language is a central issue in rhetorical utility, and this language is selective. The implication is that, rhetoric establishes a transmission process, and reconfigures the interpretative systems of others through the utility of language, to impose order on reality, and this fact was noted by Berger (1969). Hence, Aristotle framed rhetoric as a field of learning with priority on pedagogy and praxis. His postulation insinuated the potency of thought transformation of discursive theory. Consequently, Burke (1974) adopted a functional explanation of rhetoric as the “use of words by human agents to form attitudes or induce actions in other agents.” Corax and Tisias defined rhetoric to mean the “artificer of persuasion” (Lin 2000). They denote rhetoric as a product of skillful and artistic craftsmanship to persuade, provide certitude and confidence. In their view, therefore, rhetoric is a skill whose development requires practice as audience-targeted activity to achieve desired objectives. The rhetorical craftsmanship has been labeled by Nelson (2004) as ‘persuasive communication’ and expounded by him as ‘‘aimed at altering the subjective beliefs that the audience hold towards a particular political issue or policy.’’ Hence, Nelson considered rhetoric as communicative and political tool, designating it as critical to discourse, persuasion and public belief. 21 Cornelia Ilie, Rhetoric, Classical, O¨rebro University, O¨rebro, Sweden, 2006 Elsevier Ltd. Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304042264. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 29 that ‘the study of the social world is essential to drawing upon human capacity to understand fellow human beings ‘from the inside’ through empathy, shared experience, and culture,’’ and so on (Hammersley, 2013). In American sociological parlance, verstehen is understood to mean motivational understanding, psychological interpretation, dynamic assessment, intentionality and similar designations of purposeful human behavior. ‘German social philosophers include the interpretation of the meaning of cultural objects like norms or institutions; the interpretation of past historical events; of cultures other than one's own; and the gamut of subjects covered by hermeneutics’ (Theodore, 1975). Hence, the term is embracive of the comprehensive perspectives of the immense array of the human realm. It incorporates motivational understanding and interpretive meaning, and that is the cognitive and behavioural aspects of persons on one hand and the material and objective aspects of culture about etic and emic analyses of such objects. In terms of weaknesses, verstehen is prone to subjective and biased conclusions as a researcher may impose their values and interpretation. Again, it fails to ensure the achievement of a complete empathetic understanding of another culture or group. Furthermore, it offers no guarantees in providing enough ease and time due to its requirement for in-depth and qualitative data collection and analysis. The strengths of verstehen lie in its helpfulness in avoiding ethnocentrism and cultural bias in research analysis. It also helps to discover meanings, motives and values guiding actions and interactions. Furthermore, it helps to explain subjective experiences and interpretations of actors. According to Hammersley (2013), interpretivism argues that by comprehending how people interpret and derive meaning from their world, one can understand why people do what they do, and why some institutions exist and function in unique ways. Thus, he University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 30 projected interpretivism to essentialize attitudes, practices, and beliefs – how they have formed over time and progressively impact the social world. He notes further that, to achieve this understanding, however, it is critical to rely on one’s personal experience of social learning rather than procedural objectivity achievement. The core emphasis here is that fundamentally, particular people must be understood in specific socio-historical terms. This is indicative of interpretivism as imbued with ideographic explanation22and differentiated from positivism which dwells on observable features only to explain the behaviour of discernible objects. Hence, approaches used in the content analysis of the research have been applied interpretively sticking to the critical theory paradigm (Hsieh and Shannon, 2017). Verstehen served as the theoretical anchor to shape the research outcome of the thesis due to its overarching interpretive coverage, all of which strengthened the sense-making and data- interpreting requirements of the thesis. 2.2 Literature Review As a second but equally important requirement of a thesis, the chapter has accommodated an epistemic discourse generated by authorities in recognition of established knowledge and ideas in the problem area of the thesis. This epistemic knowledge construed as a literature review has functioned as the researcher’s compass to chart a unique course of knowledge both in continuity and discontinuity of existing literature on the problem of the research. The discourse engaged by the research has mediated the research questions of the thesis and literature review. The literature review has been organized thematically to identify the subject matter, theory, strengths, weaknesses, and divergences related to the thesis enquiry. 22 Babbie (2007, p.19). University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 31 2.2.1 Formal Endorsement of Interaction Between Religion and Politics in Ghana Ghana maintains a secular-state policy which implies a divergence between religion and politics. This policy of the State permits divergent faiths and religious plurality which allows the free expression of religion.23 However, this is so, only in so far as it happens within confines that do not contravene public law and order. Religion is therefore regarded as a private matter. It is not to encroach upon the public space which is the milieu of national governance and public service. There are exceptions though, on national occasions such as the Independence Day celebration and the swearing-in of a new President for reasons of cultural sensitivity and inclusiveness. This demonstration of sensitivity and inclusiveness is an indication of Ghana’s recognition of religion and politics’ interplay. Thus, the relationship is deemed as vital to the development of Ghana’s statehood to indicate a posture of State support of the relationship. 2.2.2 The Realm of Interaction between Religion and Politics Religion and politics correspond to two different spaces i.e., the religious and the secular or the sacred and profane realms typified in the Durkheimian (1924) categorization of the social space. As Durkheim pointed out, worldview and ideology sustain the functionality of each space to explain their varied outlooks. Although varied in outlook Mwanga (2015) is persuaded that religion and politics share a direct relationship. This makes it interesting to unravel the participation, motivation and patronage that characterize their actions. 23 Quashigah, K. ‘Religion and the Secular State in Ghana.’ In: Report: Interim Volume. (2010). Faculty of Law, University of Ghana. Pdf copy. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 32 According to Dovlo (1995), politics has been observed to indulge civil religion, ‘the recourse to religious images and symbols in public and political life’ (p. 1-12) which has become a common practice in West Africa. Civil religion strands two varieties. These varieties are religious nationalism which is displayed in the ideological expression of Zikism in Nigeria; and Nkrumaism in Ghana which was the exploitation of religion by politics to garner votes. These strategies are and were aimed at glamourizing politics as a means to hold power indefinitely (Ryan, 1986, p. 108). 2.2.3 Ideological Impact on Society and Consequence on Interaction Between Religion and Politics There exists a coincidence of ideology and identity which influences the relationship with religion with impact on religion and political interaction. The association of ‘political identity’ with religion and politics suggested an interdependence of ideology and society. This interdependence provokes scrutiny of the ideologies of the dominant politics vis-à-vis religion and political interaction at any given period. In this connection, the observations of Nkrumah (1970) about the totalizing effect of ideology, and the ideological views of Toure (1978), and Folson (1973) who noted that ideology was responsible for economic and political systems were found to be instructive. In this regard, therefore, political identity and ideology, as correlates of religion and politics are confirmed as corollaries of identity. Nkrumah (1970 p. 59) analyzed the force of ideology and noted its totalizing effect as encompassing the whole life of a people. He pointed out that evidence of ideology could be found in the art, literature, religion, class structure and history of a people. Again, he suggested that an integrative ideology would be intentional in its quest and aimed to ‘introduce a certain order which will unite the actions of millions University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 33 towards specific and definite goals’ (Nkrumah, 1970). Nkrumah did not fail to point out the implication of social control and the incidence of coercive force as imbuing ideology. As indicated by Scott (1992, pp.11-19) the pluralist perspective of identity is pictured as ‘a fixed set of customs, practices and meanings, and enduring heritage, a ready identifiable sociological category, a set of shared traits and/or experiences.’ The pluralists’ perspective of identity as enunciated by Scott (1992) is a suggestion that identity imposes a behavioural fixation which is rooted in customs, practices and heritage. Giving meaning to ‘‘the concept of identity as a basis for social action arguing that ‘identity’ not ‘ideology’ is a key motive of social action’ clarifies the role of identity and ideology in a religion and politics interrelationship. (Milosevic 2006, pp. 17-18). Delanty (1996) has explained that Milosevic’s conceptualization of identity does neither mean nor deny that ideology has come to an end. To his mind, it is rather that ideology is fragmented into the politics of identity meaning that ideology keeps undergoing or undergoes refraction through the prism of identity. Simply, Delanty’s position is that ideology tends to be fluid, it reshapes itself in its association with identity. The reshaping of ideology in identity as suggested by Delanty indicates the impact of personal actions, political decisions and choices on ideology to indicate an inter-relationship of personal actions and political ideology with an impact on religion and political interaction. Identity then poses to be nuanced and retains the code for the dismantling of political ideology. Frehiwot (2016, p. 3) has pointed to a relationship between ideology and politics in Nkrumah’s own CPP, ‘Nkrumah incorporated the ideological impact of society into University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.ghUniversity of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 34 his political philosophy and as such, he attempted to integrate this philosophy into the policies of the CPP.’ In pointing out the ideology and politics relationship in CPP, Frehiwot (2016) commented that the ‘transmission of the dominant ideology to the general population allows them to advocate for it even if it is negatively affecting them.’ The hegemonic utility of ideology in politics was what she projected. She seemed to paint a picture of the discernible interlocking of ideology with the threads of society namely the dialectical, economic, social policies and the ethical code. In this interdependence and interface of ideology and society, an active relationship results in an unescapable political consequence to reinforce the hegemony of politics (Toure, 1978). Hence, political ideology leads to the establishment of unique political and economic systems. Folson (1973) recorded that at independence, the operative ideologies in several African countries distinctively followed colonial ideological and African liberation theological patterns. The disparate socio-economic and political outcomes registered over the years in Africa, and in Ghana could as w