“To Fast or not to Fast”: Religious Diversity and Peaceful Coexistence in Ghana

Abstract

During the 2021 Ramadan fasting, a controversy arose in the Wesley Girls‘ High School, Cape Coast that brought to the fore the
need to deepen the discussions on religious diversity and accommodation of different faiths in Ghanaian public schools. The
disagreement stemmed from the fact that the school prevented a Muslim girl from engaging in the annual Muslim Ramadan fasting, with the excuse that it would affect the health of the child. The school, which was built by the Wesleyan Methodist Missionaries, had the support of the Methodist Church. The Muslim groupings in Ghana felt that the attempt to stop the Muslim girl from fasting was an infringement on her religious right to practise her religion. This paper discusses this dispute in the light of the religious pluralistic society of Ghana. The paper argues that the schools which were founded by the Christian Mission and are now fully run by the state should not be used as a proselytising tool to prevent children of other faiths from practising their faiths. The paper concludes that if this action of the school is allowed to fester, it could lead to disturbances that may threaten the religious diversity and peaceful co-existence that Ghana currently enjoys.