Let the good times roll

Ghana is an über-religious society. Early in my stay I was told Ghanaians don't care what god you believe in, but you must believe in some god. Canadians could learn a lot about religious tolerance from Ghanaians (except for that no atheists thing — though I have met some here).

Dominant among the religions is evangelical charismatic christianity — exported from the United States. On a percentage basis this is probably the most widespread religion, but even if it isn't, it wins hands down on the visibility front. One manifestation is the posters:

At a conference last year a linguist presented a paper on locally acquired foreign accents; that is, Ghanaians who speak with an American twang, acquired from watching so many American evangelical programs on TV.

The posters are quite intriguing — especially for an outsider. They advertise religious events, always with a theme and usually of marathon proportions. Herewith a sample:

Seven Hours of Prayer Wrestling

Fourteen days plus two mega alnights [sic]

 I started photographing the posters after missing out on capturing one with the theme of 'provoking God'. I forget what they were going to provoke her into doing but was intrigued by what seemed the audacity of the venture. 

The posters even come with local flavour and endorsements:

Saving Legon

Saving the Psych Dept.

And finally, variations of this one went up as soon as the exam period started:

Why study when you can pray