Should Pastors Be Involved In Political Talks?

There have been a number of argument and disagreement as to whether it is appropriate for pastors to be talking about politics. The argument has gone on for so long but no definite agreement has been reached with respect to the subject matter. A section of the public believes that pastors are set apart by God to lead people to Christ through the preaching of the word of God.

They say the primary responsibility of pastors has nothing to do with politics, but it is all about spiritually guiding people to believe and accept Jesus as Lord and savior of their lives and be saved. Some pastors are being accused of neglecting their primary responsibility and hindering their genuineness whenever they take the initiative of getting their views across the public about a political issue.

People often question the genuineness and authenticity of some pastors when they are heard voicing out their views on a political issues. One cannot say these accusations are legitimate because the constitution allows freedom of speech and pastors are not exempted. They also have the right to make their views on any issue they desire to comment on. Another section of the public argues that policies and decisions taken by policy makers like politicians have an effect on all citizens including pastors, so they (pastors) have the right to make their opinions on any political issue known.

They say pastors must not be restricted to only preaching the gospel and encouraging as well as advising people as church, but are obliged to also advice policy makers when given the opportunity to talk about any political issue. Being a Christian and a pastor for that matter, gives you a huge responsibility of grooming fellow Christians spiritually to live a holy and acceptable life in Christ and in the community.

However, there are several ways of grooming and admonishing people to live right, therefore using a political platform to do that is not wrong, as said by a section of the public. Politics is a day to day routine and pastors must be allowed to make their views known without lambasting them. In view of the above sentiments of the public, a neutral person may propose that, to promote freedom of speech which the Ghanaian constitution endorses, accusations and unnecessary lambasting of pastors who talk about issues related to politics must be stopped.