The Role of Religion in Gender Inequality in Ghana: The Christian Perspective

Abstract

This article seeks to discuss how religion affects gender inequality in Ghana. Religious teachings and beliefs play an important role in either promoting or hindering gender equality. Defining ‘‘religion’’ with a common definition has become a major enterprise for theologians. From the biblical perspective, the impact of females is rarely felt, due to the socio-cultural injunctions purported to have come from the Graeco-Roman world. The subjugation of women is still common in all spheres of life including Ghana and religion has a role to play in this phenomenon. Using the works of various scholars, this article explored the extent of the influence of religion on gender inequality from the Christian perspective. It was observed that despite its influence on social development, Religion has not promoted the needed gender equality in Ghana. The church and society, therefore, need to confront the issue of gender inequality and sanction women’s equality with their male counterparts. This study adds to the existing literature on the need to break gender inequality in all spheres of life in this 21st century. Keywords: Religion, Culture, Patriarchy, Gender Inequality.