False hope in God major cause of suicide in Ghana - Psychologist reveals

Head of Psychology at the University of Ghana, Prof. Joseph Osafo says Christianity is one of the major causes of suicide in Ghana.

Prof. Joseph Osafo disclosed this as the world marks Suicide Prevention Day today, September 10.

He expounded that he and his team interviewed some mental health patients in the country and a large number of them attributed their problems to their faith in God.

Speaking in an interview with Kwami Sefa Kayi onPeace FM's 'Kokrokoo', he said ''we interviewed 30 attempt survivors at the hospital and it was very interesting. Look at what we found, we saw that more than 20 of them were angry at God. This is what we call a psychology faith crisis. According to them, they're angry at God because [1] they're getting frustrated asking God to intervene''.

He revealed that their findings showed that the patients were angry with God due to the sermons that their Pastors preached to them.

"Within the remit of African prophetic theology, there's something we call triumphalism. Triumphalism means that, when you go to a lot of churches, especially the prophetic ministries, they give you a picture that God's intervention is so real that no matter the existential crisis confronting a person, when they preach the Word and they give you the prophecy, God will intervene. Now, what happens is that they become frustrated when they don't get the results . . . It is this theology of escaping suffering that creates a problem for them."

He appealed to religious leaders, particularly Prophets, to desist from giving false hope to their congregants saying "you need to articulate the Bible in a way to transform the person's mind" and tell the truth about reality.