Accra-Ghana, Feb.22, GNA—The Reverend Professor J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, President, Trinity Theological Seminary, says in practicing responsible citizenship, one must promote the collective interest of society by working towards the good of all.
“Responsible citizenship is expected to issue graceful speech and other morally upright acts that inure to the benefit of the whole community so that families and communities flourish together.”
“God’s blessings come to those who do not compromise on the moral implications of faith and life and work towards the good of the community,” he said.
Rev. Prof. Asamoah-Gyadu was speaking at a three-day J.B Danquah Memorial Lectures (Series 56), organised by the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, in Accra.
The Lecture was on the broad theme: “African Politics and the Mystical Realm: Religion and Governance in PostColonial Ghana”.
Day Two was on the subtitle: “Healing Our People: Contemporary Christianity, Citizenship, and Governance in Ghana”.
Rev. Prof. Asamoah-Gyadu said constructive citizenship must seek to reverse the trend and channel efforts into building a Ghana that citizens could refer to as homeland without any reservations.
He said citizenship was the status of a person under custom or law considered as the legal member of a community or sovereign state.
Rev. Prof. Asamoah-Gyadu said to be a citizen meant to belong, however, one’s belonging carried with it privileges and responsibilities.
“Citizenship is a means of personal and communal affirmation. It confers dignity, legitimacy and has implications for human rights because of the privileges and responsibilities associated with it,” he added.
Rev. Prof. Asamoah-Gyadu said Ghanaians needed healing from rebellious attitudes to law and order and from “mediocrity” and the poor sense of hygiene.
He said moral purity was necessary for citizenship because it formed a critical part of one’s profession of faith.
He said Christians were supposed to be exemplary as far as personal lifestyles were concerned, adding that, the manner in which people served as private citizens and public servants was important.
Rev. Prof. Asamoah-Gyadu said religiosity must inspire a new “hermeneutics” of citizenship that made people aware that life and work must be governed by eternal human values that positively affected workplace ethics in terms of the use of time and the management of resources.
