“It will be difficult but doable”: an exploratory study on mobilizing churches in Ghana for poverty reduction
International Journal of Social Economics
ISSN: 0306-8293
Article publication date: 30 January 2024
Issue publication date: 10 September 2024
Abstract
Purpose
Religion could drive development. Although Ghana is touted as the most religious country in the world, notably, some Charismatic/Pentecostal churches operate at the expense of community development and members’ welfare. This study sought to achieve three objectives: to determine whether there is an opportunity for organizing the various churches for interfaith cooperative collective action; to assess the association between people’s religiosity and the propensity to join interfaith cooperative collective action and to assess people’s perceptions of the institutional framework that could facilitate the organization of the religious community in Ghana for interfaith collective action.
Design/methodology/approach
Descriptive statistics and an ordered probit model (OPM) were used to analyze cross-sectional data from a representative sample of households in the Greater Accra Region. Thematic analysis was also used to analyze the qualitative data.
Findings
The study found that generally, there is a positive response to a proposal to mobilize churches in an interfaith cooperative collective action, but distrust poses a great threat to interfaith cooperative collective action. The study also found that affiliation with the Seventh-Day Adventist Church and Pentecostal/Charismatic is negatively (positively) associated with the propensity to join a collective action, respectively. Finally, the results of the study found that accountability, proper management and fair distribution of the proceeds from a collective action will help in mobilizing churches in Ghana in an interfaith collective action.
Originality/value
This is the first major study to explore the possibility of interfaith collective action among religious denominations aimed at accelerating poverty reduction and wealth creation in any developing country.
Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-08-2023-0670
Keywords
Citation
Ababio, A.G. (2024), "“It will be difficult but doable”: an exploratory study on mobilizing churches in Ghana for poverty reduction", International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 51 No. 10, pp. 1262-1277. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-08-2023-0670
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited