Some of the missionaries to the Gold Coast were not whites. This biography of David Asante throws light not only on the development of the Christian church but also on the evolution of of gender relations and society in mid 19th century colonial Ghana. Illustrated with b/w photographs. Text in German. Index, notes, maps, bib, viii, 258pp, Switzerland. SCHLETTWEIN PUBLISHING.

An examination of Pentecostal/charismatic renewal in an African context providing useful insights into the nature of modern African Pentecostal spirituality. The author focuses on Ghanaian Pentecostalism in its modern form. BNS, 260pp, THE NETHERLANDS. EJ BRILL, 9004140891

First full monograph of Ghanaian Anglicanism since Church of England missionaries first set foot on the soils of the then Gold Coast in the middle of the Eighteenth century. It is a historical account that features insights into the work and activities of the various dioceses of the Anglican Church including their contributions to education, social evangelism and education in particular. Each chapter is illustrated with pictures of key personnel dating back to the colonial era. 490pp, GHANA. AMANZA LTD.

Argues that the vast majority of Muslims in Africa generally do not 'objectify' concepts such as poverty and religion in discussion. Poverty is a situation for 'ordinary' poor people in rural or urban poor areas where people seek to make marginal gains in income to avoid ever-threatening destitution and social disintegration. Most of these 'ordinary' poor people, especially poor and illiterate women, do not really believe that things can change. This study focuses on the conditions of poverty and the debate among Muslims in Ghana, a West African country with a substantial but largely economically and politically marginalized Muslim population. 175pp, SWEDEN. NORDIC AFRICA INSTITUTE.

Christianity has come to be a religion embraced especially by women and not least in Africa. This book provides one of the as yet rare case studies for the early stages of this development: how African women on the pre- and early colonial Gold Coast (Ghana) encountered Basel Mission Christianity, 1843-1885. Popular interpretations have tended to describe Christianity as either empowering or domesticating African women. Looking at variegated push-and-pull factors and in its focus on the agency of Ghanaian women this detailed analysis situates the quest for Christian womanhood as part of trans-national discourses and exchanges, as well as local interactions, and writes a social history that is at once transnational and transcultural. 442pp, NETHERLANDS. E J BRILL.

Upon arrival in the United States, most African immigrants are immediately subsumed under the category black. In the eyes of most Americans - and more so to American legal and social systems - African immigrants are indistinguishable from all others, such as those from the Caribbean whose skin colour they share. Despite their growing presence in many cities and their active involvement in sectors of American economic, social, and cultural life, we know little about them. In From Africa to America, Moses O. Biney offers a rare full-scale look at an African immigrant congregation, the Presbyterian Church of Ghana in New York (PCGNY). Through personal stories, notes from participant observation, and interviews, Biney explores the complexities of the social, economic, and cultural adaptation of this group, the difficult moral choices they have to make in order to survive, and the tensions that exist within their faith community. 240pp, USA. NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS.

Charismatic Christianity is the most recent and fastest growing expression of Pentecostal religion in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Ghana's capital, Accra, the charismatic churches dominate the religious scene. This book focuses on the gender discourses of Ghana's new churches, and considers charismatic perspectives on womanhood, manhood, marriage and family life. Offering a fresh perspective on the organisational structures of the charismatic churches, this study looks at the leadership roles of female pastors and pastors' wives, and draws attention to the links between female leaders and spiritual power. By highlighting the importance of spiritual power in interpreting gendered social change, the book sheds new light on the socio-cultural role of Ghana's new churches. Index, bib, 268pp, NETHERLANDS. EJ BRILL.

The Methodist Church in Ghana has its roots in a Bible study group of Ghanaians, formed in 1831. Aided by British Methodist missionaries, the group developed over the next 130 years until, in 1961, it gained autonomy from the British Methodist conference. Central to the Ghanaian Methodist movement is the fusion of Ghanaian identity, Akan culture and Methodist missionary theology. 338pp, USA. AFRICA WORLD PRESS.

Focusing on Greater Accra, the author examines a wide range of the city's new churches, giving priority to mega churches. Gifford analyses discourse, theological vision, worship, rituals, music, media involvement and the use of the Bible. Index, 216pp, UK. HURST, 085065719X

Addressing the existing polarised debate on the subject, this book debunks the popular notion that Africa's religio-cultural traditions are stalling development. Using the Nankani of Northern Ghana as an example, Rose Mary Amanga-Etego illustrates how the religio-cultural traditions of Africans constitute a frame of thought that can be very beneficial to sustainable development given the right context. 348pp, USA. AFRICA WORLD PRESS.

An early theological study by an African scholar of the African response to the Christian faith. Republished, with a new foreword by J. Kwabena Asmoah-Gyadu of the Trinity Theological Seminary, Legon, Ghana, which revisits some of the author’s conclusions in light of recent developments in the indigenous and Christian religious movements in independent Africa. 179pp, GHANA. AFRICA CHRISTIAN PRESS.

Using descriptions of Kasena family life, the author sheds light on both the continuing and changing spiritual beliefs of a Christian people of Northern Ghana. The author uses history, geography, personal interviews, songs, prayers and sermons to assess the emerging Christian theology. Glossary, bib, app, tables, maps, index, b/w photos, xx, 394pp, GHANA. AFRICA CHRISTIAN PRESS.

A profile of the Presbyterian Church in Ghana looking at its contributions to education, agriculture and the development of Ghanaian languages and music over 175 years. Bib, b/w illus, 171pp, GHANA. AFRAM PUBLICATIONS LTD, 996470349X

Aims to provide an accessible introduction to the dynamics and structures of traditional African religion, and to see its resonances in African American religious life today. Each chapter ends with study questions and a bibliography. Maps, notes, refs, gloss, index, xvi, 198pp, USA. ORBIS BOOKS, 157075165X

1998 Paperback