"By God's Grace"

At 5:30 AM this morning, I awoke to a young woman preaching below our balcony.  She was passionately shouting about Jesus’ love to everyone in our hostel.  I recognized her voice; she frequents the hostels around this area at night and early in the morning.  For about half an hour, everyone in the area is subjected to what we are missing in life, why we need to follow the message, and what might happen if we choose otherwise.  What I do not understand is why she would want us to be in a bad mood when she gives her message.  What I do understand is that she thinks she is helping us and thinks it is her duty to do so.

I hesitate to write this post because religion and politics are topics to be avoided in casual US conversation.  But this is why I must write it.  Religion is something everyone talks about here.  And this is why I am thrown off.

Almost every Sunday, about 5 people ask if I have gone to church, if so, where, and if not, why not.  People seem to take it personally if Lesego or I say we did not go.  I recognize that many Ghanaian students have been raised in a culture where religion comes first- or rather the practice comes first.  I mean, I went to church every Sunday as a child but did not feel guilty if I missed it due to a soccer game or being out of town.  For me, God can still be a priority without my physical presence in that building.  But based on the two different interdenominational services I have attended, I have learned they teach the idea that it’s their task to save others by spreading the message.  I think it is this attitude of having the only answer that really confuses me.

One thing that seems to be a common thread in religion in Ghana is noise.  Oh, the noise, noise, noise, noise (am I a Grinch?...).  Every night, students gather in the field next to my hostel to chant, pray and sing.  At one of the interdenominational services, everyone shouted out their prayers at the same time even though music was blaring and the pastor was shouting into the microphone as well.  Okay, this is just a style, one which is probably very powerful for some people.  But I could not even hear my own thoughts. How am I supposed to hear God?

I personally believe that it is enough to have a quiet, reflective 20-30 minutes to talk to God, then go out and live it.  My professor once said something similar to this in class as he criticized what many Ghanaians do.  He said, “You find that your husband is having an affair, so you go to a field and start singing and praying it about it all day and all night instead of going to the home, talking to him, and giving him reason to stay!”

I am always hesitant at first to judge.  Was this religious climate common to Africa, West Africa, Ghana? I do think this is something particular to Ghana based on conversations with other African international students.  A friend from Uganda says he at times asks people something to see if they reply in a religious manner.  For instance, he told a classmate that Ghanaian women are very beautiful, to which she replied, “By God’s grace.”  This line, according to him, he hears almost daily.  Lesego said a girl followed her to class one day, talking about Jesus the entire walk and asking for her telephone number so she could take Lesego to church.

In one of the first orientations for international students, the dean of International Programmes warned us that people here are very religious.  However, she said, it is sad that some find a hard time living it out.  They will pray and pray, but still steal and cheat and lie.  She says she hopes Ghana can someday achieve a balance. I also find it slightly ironic that this Christianity traces it history to colonization, when initially people resisted the forced conversion.  Now it is truly their own.

When I see Jews practice or learn of Muslim beliefs with which I disagree, it somehow bothers me less than certain practices of Christianity here.  I have been pondering this for a while.  The conclusion: religion here is a warped version of my own.  Perhaps I am taking it personally whereas I can accept something that is supposed to be different, like Islam or Judaism.

I am really sorry if any Ghanaians read this and disagree. (I also know that I am largely generalizing). But remember, this is just how a Catholic girl from the US perceives it.