The opportunity to be both: a look at Christianity and feminism in Ghana

Abstract

This thesis examines the affinity between Pentecostal Christianity and feminism in Ghana. Feminism has been a topic of debate in Ghana for many years because it is viewed as disruptive ideology. The role of women is often overlooked within Ghanaian Pentecostal Christian circles. Women are often not allowed leadership positions in the absence of male leaders, and this is often backed by literal androcentric biblical interpretations. Such interpretations put feminism and Ghanaian Pentecostal Christianity as opposing ideologies. However, the biblical passages in Numbers 27:1-11 regarding the daughters of Zelophehad and that of the women mentioned in Acts 16: 1-7 when analysed through womanist hermeneutics offer an interpretation that recognises equality in Ghana’s (Pentecostal) Christianity. The role these women played made biblical history and the beginning of women’s recognition in Christianity. This thesis examines the affinity between Ghanaian (Pentecostal) Christianity and feminism using womanist hermeneutical interpretation.