Trading-off Church Participation for Political Engagement: A Necessity for Political Effectiveness and Influence?

Abstract

Active involvement in the church can provide a religious capital for political engagements but at the same time, it can prevent or limit the political participation of church members. Many studies have concentrated on the factors which either promote or discourage political mobilisation and participation by churches. However, there is little work on the impact of political involvement on church participation, and this paper seeks to contribute to filling this gap. It provides unique data and contributes to the broader discourse on church and politics. Using a Mixed-Method approach, this study was conducted with five selected churches in Ghana. The study’s main objective was to examine the involvement of Christian politicians in church activities, and the churches’ appreciation of the implications of political engagement for church participation. The paper contends that politics requires quality time investments. Christian politicians may sometimes have to trade-off time in church for political activities in order to be effective and to influence the political sphere. On the other hand, they face a lot of challenges and may need the church to stand by them. Churches that want their members to go into politics need to understand this. And therefore, they should not ‘abandon’ them but rather support, encourage and keep close contact with them. Keywords: Politics, Church, Engagement, Civic Skills, Time.