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Christianity is the largest religion in Ghana, with approximately 71.2% of the country's population being member of various Christian denominations as of 2010 census.〔http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+gh0059)〕 The religious composition of Ghana in the first postindependence population census of 1960 was 12 percent Muslim, 38 percent traditionalist, 41 percent Christian, and the rest (about 9 percent) other. A breakdown of the 1960 population according to Christian sects showed that 25 percent were Protestant (non-Pentecostal); 13 percent, Roman Catholic; 2 percent, Protestant (Pentecostal); and 1 percent, Independent African Churches. The 1970 population census did not present figures on the religious composition of the nation.〔Owusu-Ansah (1994), "Religion and Society".〕 The percentage of the general population considered to be Christian rose sharply to 62 percent according to a 1985 estimate. Whereas the Protestant (non-Pentecostal) sector remained at 25 percent, the percentage of Catholics increased to 15 percent. A larger rise, however, was recorded for Protestants (Pentecostals) – 8 percent compared with their 2 percent representation in 1960. From being the smallest Christian sect, with a 1 percent representation among the general population in 1960, membership in the Independent African Churches rose the most – to about 14 percent by 1985. The 1985 estimate showed that the Muslim population of Ghana raised to 26 percent. However, many Muslim organizations disputed these figures.〔(Muslims cry foul over population figures )〕 The sector representing traditionalists and non-believers (38 and 9 percent, respectively, in 1960), also dramatically declined by 1985 – to 21 and about 1 percent, respectively.〔〔 Religious tolerance in Ghana is very high. The major Christian celebrations of Christmas and Easter are recognized as national holidays. In the past, vacation periods have been planned around these occasions, thus permitting both Christians and others living away from home to visit friends and family in the rural areas. Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting, is observed by Muslims in Ghana and important traditional occasions are celebrated. These festivals include the Adae, which occur fortnightly, and the annual Odwira festivals. There is also the annual Apoo festival activities, which is a kind of Mardi Gras and is held in towns across Ghana.〔 There is no significant link between ethnicity and religion in Ghana.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=International Religious Freedom Report 2006 Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor )〕 ==Christianity== (詳細はChristian missionaries on the coast of Ghana has been dated to the arrival of the Portuguese in the fifteenth century. It was the Basel/Presbyterian and Wesleyan/Methodist missionaries, however, who, in the nineteenth century, laid the foundation for the Christian church in Ghana. Beginning their conversions in the coastal area and amongools as "nurseries of the church" in which an educated African class was trained. There are secondary schools today, especially exclusively boys and girls schools, that are mission- or church-related institutions. Church schools have been opened to all since the state assumed financial responsibility for formal instruction under the Education Act of 1960.〔Owusu-Ansah (1994), "Christianity and Islam in Ghana".〕 Various Christian denominations are represented in Ghana, including Evangelical Presbyterian and Catholicism.〔 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), in addition to chapels, has a temple in Accra, one of only three LDS temples on the African continent. The unifying organization of Christians in the country is the Ghana Christian Council, founded in 1929. Representing the Methodist, Anglican, Mennonite, Presbyterian, Evangelical Presbyterian, African Methodist Episcopal Zionist, Christian Methodist, Evangelical Lutheran, F'Eden, and Baptist churches, and the Society of Friends, the council serves as the link with the World Council of Churches and other ecumenical bodies.The Seventh-day Adventist Church, not a member of Christian Council has a strong presence in Ghana. The Church opened the premier private and Christian University in Ghana. The National Catholic Secretariat, established in 1960, also coordinates the different in-country dioceses. These Christian organizations, concerned primarily with the spiritual affairs of their congregations, have occasionally acted in circumstances described by the government as political. Such was the case in 1991 when both the Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Ghana Christian Council called on the military government of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) to return the country to constitutional rule. The Roman Catholic newspaper, The Standard, was often critical of government policies.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Religion in Ghana」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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