INTERROGATING THE CAUSES OF INTERRELIGIOUS CONFLICTS IN SOME SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS IN UPPER WEST REGION, GHANA

Abstract

Ghana is perceived as a secular and a peaceful nation. Various interreligious conflicts and other large-scale violentconflicts that have plagued many countries the world over, are virtually absent in Ghana or on a very low tone.Despite the reported successes in the religious front, pockets of interreligious conflicts loom across the country, especially in the second cycle institutions. Probing into the situation through an exploratory case study design, data gathered from in-depth interview and focus group discussion involved 71 students’ executives and 20 key informants. They were mainly selected from three Senior High Schools in the Upper West Region of Ghana, and the data showed that; compulsory church service and wearing of hijab, power struggle, doctrinal differences, reserved positions, restrictions on religious items, and competition over worshipping space have been the principal causes of interreligious conflicts in these selected educational institutions. This paper recommends effective worship space management, cross-religious education and curricular review to include religious diversity studies by schools, district institutions and the Ghana Education Service to promote religious co-existence and tolerance in schools.

Keywords: Interreligious Conflict, Christianity and Islam, African  Traditional Religion, Upper West, Region, Educational Institution