Document Type
Thesis
Degree
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Religious Studies
Advisor's Name
Albert Kafui Wuaku
Advisor's Title
Committee Chair
Advisor's Name
Christine Gudorf
Advisor's Name
Whitney Bauman
Keywords
Sacred Chief, Tradition, Modernity, Globalization, Religious Human Rights
Date of Defense
3-30-2012
Abstract
This study explored the interface between the abuses inherent in the sacred nature of the Akan (a Ghanaian ethnic group) Chief and international human rights laws. It argued that the sacred basis of Akan Chieftaincy, which empowers and legitimizes Akan Chiefs, also leads to them imposing restrictions on the rights of their subjects. The study examined the implications of these restrictions in the light of a rapidly modernizing, thoroughly globalizing, and a religiously pluralistic Ghana where the influence of western originated belief in individual rights is growing. The study also explored why, in spite of the many existing Constitutional and legal provisions in Ghana, breaches of religious freedom still occur. It shed considerable light on how agents of the modern state and the Chiefs, connive to sometimes suppress the rights of individuals. The study identified the implications of this development for policymaking in Ghanaian communities where modernity and tradition co-exist.
Recommended Citation
Tweneboah, Seth, "The Sacred Nature of the Akan Chief and its Implications for Tradition, Modernity and Religious Human Rights in Ghana" (2012). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 590.
http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/590