2013 Ghana Conference
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Welcome and Introductions
Kofi Quashigah Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Ghana
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Opening Session
Ernest Aryeetey – Chair Vice-Chancellor and Professor, University of Ghana
James R. Rasband – Chair Dean, J. Reuben Clark Law School
Samuel Kofi Date-Bah – Welcome Justice, Supreme Court of the Gambia; Justice, Supreme Court of Ghana
Naa John S. Nabila – Welcome Professor and President, National House of Chiefs
Musonda Trevor Selwyn Mwamba – First Keynote Address Rt. Rev. Dr., Bishop of Botswana (Anglican)
Kofi Quashigah – Second Keynote Address Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Ghana
W. Cole Durham – Third Keynote Address Susa Young Gates University Professor of Law and Director, International Center for Law and Religion Studies, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University
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Session II: Constitutionalism and Religion
P. Atudiwe Atupare – Chair Professor of Law, University of Ghana
M. Christian (Christy) Green – "Religious and Legal Pluralism in Recent African Constitutional Reform" Alonzo McDonald Family Senior Lecturer and Senior Research Fellow, Center for the Study of Law and Religion, Emory University School of Law
Emanuel Shears-Moses – "The Interaction of Customary Law, Traditional Religion, and Statutes" Head, Department of Law, University of Sierra Leone
Francois Venter – "Religious Pluralism and the Constitutional State: Some Comparative Perspectives" Professor, Dean of the Faculty of Law, North-West University
Koku Dzifa (Thierry) Kokoroko – "Secularism in French-Speaking Countries of Africa" Judge, Department of Justice of Togo
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Session III: Indigenous Religions and Customary Law
Pieter Coertzen – Chair Professor and Chairperson, Unit for the Study of Law and Religion, Faculty of Theology, Stellenbosch University
Rosalind I. J. Hackett – "Has Religious Freedom Served or Failed African Traditional/Indigenous Religions?" Professor and Head, Department of Religious Studies, University of Tennessee
Nokuzola Mndende – "Opening the Curtains: Religion, African Customary Law, and the State in Sub-Saharan Africa" Director, Icamagu Institute
Jean-Baptiste Sourou – "Relationships Between the Institutional Religions and Traditional Religions" Professor, Saint Augustine University
Sylvia R. Tamale – "Exploring the Frontiers of African Sexualities Through Statutory, Customary, and Religious Laws" Associate Professor, Department of Law and Jurisprudence, School of Law, Makerere University
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Session IV: Religion-State Relations: Country Case Studies
Emmanuel Kwabena Quansah – Chair Dean, School of Research and Graduate Studies, Mountcrest University College
Pieter Coertzen – "The South African State and Religions in South Africa" Professor and Chairperson, Unit for the Study of Law and Religion, Faculty of Theology, Stellenbosch University
Willy Zeze – "Christianity: A State-Sponsored Religion in Malawi: A Critical Evaluation of the Relationship Between the CCAP Nkhoma Synod and the MCP-Led Government (1964-1994)" Rev. Dr., Nkhoma Synod of the Church of Central African Presbyterian
Abdulmumuni Adebayo Oba – "Law, Religious Pluralism, and National Integration in Nigeria: Challenges and Prospects" Professor, Department of Jurisprudence and International Law, Faculty of Law, University of Ilorin
Christian Nsabimana Garuka – "Religion and Law in Rwanda: A Critical Analysis on the 'Unclear' Relationship" Advocate/Avocat au Barreau de Kigali, ABCC Law Chambers
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Session V: Tension Between Religion and State: Country Case Studies
Johan van der Vyver – Chair Professor, Center for the Study of Law and Religion, Emory University
Allswell O. Muzan – "Religion in the Nigerian Constitution: Did We Adopt a State Religion, or Did We Create Two Countries?" Professor, Kogi State University, Faculty of Law
Selam Kidane – "The Troubled Relationship of State and Religion in Eritrea" Policy Officer, Strategy, Systems, and Performace, Schools and Children's Services
Charles M. Fombad – "The Power of Religion in Society and Its Contribution to the Common Good" Professor of Law and Head, Department of Public Law, Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria
J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu – "Religion and the Machiavellian Politics of Defamation: Charismatic Christianity, the Media and Democratic Elections in Ghana" Professor of African Christianity and Pentecostal Theology, Trinity Theological Seminary
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Session VI: Politics and Pluralism
David Kirkham – Chair Senior Fellow for Comparative Law and International Policy International Center for Law and Religion Studies J. Reuben Clark Law School Brigham Young University
Elom Dovlo – "Religious Leaders, Politics, and Law in Contemporary Ghanian Experience" Professor, University of Ghana
Is-haq Oloyede – "Politicising the Divine and Theologising the Mundane: The Cross-Currents of Law, Religion, and Politics in Nigeria" Professor of Islamic Studies and Former Vice-Chancellor, University of Ilorin; Executive Secretary and Coordinator, Nigeria Interreligious Council (NIREC)
Helena van Coller – "Religious Autonomy: The Need to Respect, Promote and Protect Religious Diversity and the Autonomy of Religious Institutions in a Pluralistic Society" Senior Lecturer, Rhodes University School of Law
Woubeshet Senegiorgis – "The Role of Religion in Fostering Good Governance" Attorney at Law
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Session VII: State Responses to Religious Minorities
Brigid M. Sackey – Chair Professor, Centre for Social Policy Studies, University of Ghana
David A. B. Jallah – "Registration of Religious Groups and State Control" Dean, Louis Arthur School of Law, University of Liberia
Mark Hill – "Freedom of Belief for Minorities in States with a Dominant Religion: Anomaly and Pragmatism" Barrister; Honorary Professor, Cardiff University, Wales; President, European Consortium for Church and State Research
Nico Horn – "The State-Church Relationship of White Pentecostals after World War II" Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Namibia
Matthews A. Ojo – "Emerging Trends in the Relations of Nigerian Pentecostal Churches to the State" Professor, Department of Religious Studies, Obafemi Awolowo University
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Concluding Remarks and Outlook for the Future
Kofi Quashigah Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Ghana
W. Cole Durham Susa Young Gates University Professor of Law and Director, International Center for Law and Religion Studies, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University