Social Structural Dysfunction in the Era of COVID19; An Assessment of the Effects on Christian Churches in Ghana: A case of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana

Globally, the outbreak of an acute respiratory disease known as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) adversely impacted on economies of countries and religious bodies. The emergence of the pandemic led to the interruption of most public socio-economic activities including religious gatherings, local and international flights, borders, road transportation, large commercial activities, public and private schools, among others worldwide, including Ghana. These measures sought to forestall a further spread of the disease. Suspension of religious gatherings foists considerable consequences on religious activities, especially in the developing world. In the mainstream academic discourse, scholars contended that the novel pandemic adversely affected economies of countries, but there is paucity of empirical evidence on how the pandemic has affected Christian Spirituality and religious socialization in Ghana. This study however fills this knowledge gap and unveils the possible effects of COVID-19 on Christian Spirituality in Ghana by using the Presbyterian Church of Ghana as a case. Qualitative approach was employed using data from in-depth interviews from eight (8) purposively selected respondents and four (4) regions in Ghana. The analysis revealed that, the pandemic disrupted the annual plans of churches and compelled them to alter their 2019/2020 annual plans. This affected spiritual activities like baptisms, holy matrimony and communion services, among others. It was also found that Church members had to significantly revoke their wedding schedules leading to premarital sex among especially young people. The study argues that the pandemic is a spirit-lice infestation depriving Christians of active spiritual operations. It was recommended that Church policy planners ought to broaden the scope of their programmes to accommodate supplementary programmes and activities for tackling future emergency situations like the COVID-19 pandemic.