Ghana May Elect Its First Muslim President. Its Christian Majority Is Torn.

Church leaders weigh competency and faith background as the West African nation heads to the polls.

Ghana's Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia speaks at the launch of his presidential campaign.

NIPAH DENNIS / Contributor / Getty

Update (Dec. 9): Ghanaians hoping to elect their country’s first Muslim president will have to wait at least four more years.
John Dramani Mahama, who lost his bid for reelection eight years ago, will once again serve as the country’s president after winning 56.6 percent of the vote in Saturday’s election. Mahamudu Bawumia, the country’s vice president, secured 41.6 percent of the vote.

In his acceptance speech, Mahama thanked God for the victory and expressed optimism about the nation’s future. “I thank God… for preparing a table before me in the presence of my enemies, for anointing my head with oil, and for making my cup run over,” he told supporters on Monday.

Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang will make history as Ghana’s first female vice president.

…

A Muslim candidate has the best shot of becoming Ghana’s next president for the first time since the country declared independence in 1957. Recent polls show current vice president Mahamudu Bawumia narrowly leading former president John Dramani Mahama as the country heads to the polls on December 7.

The country of 34 million, where 73 percent of the country identifies as Christian, has only elected Christian presidents. No Muslim candidate has represented a major party, be it Bawumia’s New Patriotic Party (NPP), which is currently in power, or Mahama’s National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Struggling in a flailing economy, many Ghanaians, regardless of religious background, will vote for the man they hope can improve their infrastructure, increase youth employment, and solve the challenges posed by the rising cost of living and depreciating currency.

“I don’t have money to eat. I eat only once. … I eat once a day because of the economy, so I have to save it so that tomorrow I can eat it,” Faiza, a mother of two, told the BBC about the realities affecting her voting decision.

But for some Ghanaians, including Christians, a candidate’s faith is more important than their political credentials.

“We say that the people who can, and who will make us experience ‘The Africa God wants’ would be Christ-like persons—who live [a] lifestyle of godliness with integrity into every area of human endeavour,” wrote Jude Hama, the former CEO of Scripture Union Ghana, for a local weekend newspaper in October.

Ghana’s economy has sputtered for several years. From 2019 to 2022, the percentage of its public debt relative to GDP increased from 63 percent to 93 percent while at one point, inflation spiked to 54 percent.

While Ghanaians have criticized the current NPP government for the country’s economic woes, some have praised it for investing in social services, like making high school free.

Many Ghanaians also associate the Mahama administration, which lasted from 2012 to 2017, with a significant electricity crisis that left parts of the country with regular power outages. Critics also accused him of corruption. These factors, plus frustrations over the economy, contributed to Mahama’s loss to current president Nana Akufo-Addo.

On the campaign trail, both candidates have promised to fix the economy—and have been increasingly trying to do outreach to those who share their opponent’s faith, including making visits to mosques and churches, said John Azumah, the executive director of the Sanneh Institute, which studies both Islam and Christianity.

Yet this type of pandering does not impress him.

“I become very suspicious when candidates begin invoking religion for their policies,” Azumah said, pointing out that though many Nigerian Christians backed former president and fellow Christian Goodluck Jonathan, he struggled once in power and lost his reelection bid.

“I would rather have a good, competent, technocrat politician who can come up with good policies for the development of my country than to be fixated with religious labels,” Azumah said.

Further, religious affiliation can be misleading, said Kofi Bentil, a senior vice president at Imani, a well-known think tank. Ghana has had a number of leaders whose profession of Christianity was in name only, he said.

“Ghana has had presidents who worshiped idols and made pagan sacrifice. It was never a problem; I don’t know why a Muslim president should be a problem,” he said. “We must strictly separate church and state and focus on the person’s credibility and competence, not their faith.”

Bawumia and Mahama both come from royal families, had fathers who were politicians, and come from northern Ghana, a predominantly Muslim region that historically lagged behind educationally.

But the fact that Bawumia shared so much with Mahama wasn’t enough for Alan Kyerematen, a former NPP member who left the party when it decided to back the vice president.

“As a predominantly Christian nation, as Christians, it is our responsibility that we elect a Christian leader, who is also a Christlike leader. We want a leader who has the vision to bring hope to the hopeless, but we also want a leader who will be a servant leader to serve the people and not to Lord over them,” Kyerematen preached to a congregation in March. “We want a leader who has integrity. These were the characteristics of our Lord Jesus.”

Kyerematen’s comments sparked backlash, including from his former fellow party member Elizabeth Kaakie Mann.

“We are all Ghanaians, living in harmony and there is peace in the country,” she said. “The peace we are enjoying is a result of us tolerating each other, whether being Muslim, Christian or traditionalist. His statement seeks to bring chaos amongst religious groups in the country and we are calling on him to apologize and retract the statement.”

Kyerematen, who at one time had been a leading contender to be the NPP’s presidential candidate, is now running for president as an independent but has not polled higher than third.

Meanwhile, Bawumia’s team has tried to present itself as the only option for Muslims. Recently, vice-presidential candidate Matthew Opoku Prempeh accused the NDC of being anti-Muslim and said it would be haram (forbidden by Islamic law) for Muslims to vote for any NDC candidates.

“It’s a very divisive tactic, and it poses significant risks to Ghana’s unity and stability,” said Etornam Sey, a former journalist who now advocates for girls from marginalized communities. “Ethno-religious politicking is not right as a campaign strategy. If unchecked, it could drag Ghana down a path of dysfunction and disunity.”

Christians and Muslims have long peacefully coexisted in Ghana. To that end, presidents must continue to allow the constitution to guide their decisions, Azumah said, not Islamic law or the Sermon on the Mount.

“We should not impose one particular religion’s values upon a whole nation made of people from different faith traditions,” he said.

Despite his minor poll lead, both Azumah and Sey are skeptical of a Bawumia victory. (In fact, an October poll showed that 51.1 percent of Ghanaians supported Mahama.) Numerous incumbent governments around the world have lost reelection bids this year. That the NPP has already had eight years in power will make it more challenging for the vice president to win, Azumah said. The NPP has also had to deal with COVID-19 and the local challenges of a global economic crisis, Sey said.

Regardless of the outcome, a Christian politician’s life and policies should be so attractive that people would want them to govern ahead of any non-Christian, said Dieudonne Nuekpe, executive council member of the Church of Pentecost. When non-Christians win elections against Christians, Nuekpe said, it indicates that their faith is only professed—not lived out.

In fact, a non-Christian leading Christians, Nuekpe said, “happens only when God’s people disappoint him.”

Bentil said Christians obsessing over the faith of a candidate is unnecessary and irrelevant.

“Christians are stoking this religious issue, and it is dangerous!” he said. “Christians have had a lot of time to lead. What did they do?”

- More from Akosua Frempong

Culture

Where Are the Great Brazilian Christmas Carols?

Franco Iacomini

Christian music industry is booming in the country, but at Christmastime, congregations are singing the oldies.

Illustration by Mallory Rentsch Tlapek / Source Images: Getty

At any given hour on a December day in Brazil, a radio station is playing Simone’s 1995 version of “Então É Natal,” a local version of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s “Happy Xmas (War is Over).” The cover has become so ubiquitous that in 1999, one newspaper columnist suggested that people fled the country at the end of the year to escape its incessant performance.

Brazil’s obsession with translated Christmas songs extends to church music, where most Christians sing and Christian radio stations play Portuguese versions of old European carols, like “Cantai que o Salvador Chegou” (“Joy to the World”) and “Oh Vinde Adoremos” (“O Come, All Ye Faithful).”

It’s not that Brazilian Christmas songs don’t exist: There are standards from the past, such as “Boas Festas” (“Happy Holidays”) by Assis Valente, released in 1933; Otávio Babo Filho’s “O Velhinho” (“The Old Man”), popularized by Carlos Galhardo in 1957; and the carnival-style “Meninos da Mangueira” (“Boys from Mangueira,” a reference to one of the most known samba groups of Rio de Janeiro) by Ataulfo Alves Júnior (1976). But all are songs about Santa Claus.

Meanwhile, Christian Christmas songs, even Roman Catholic ones, are lacking. Among the Catholics, most celebrations are modest. Local traditions like Missa do Gallo (Midnight Mass) don’t have specific local musical traditions, and church leaders often lend their buildings for public Christmas programs unrelated to church programs.

Meanwhile, Brazilian gospel music has exploded in popularity. According to Spotify, the genre’s listenership grew on average 44 percent each year between 2015 and 2020. This year, from January to March alone, the number of gospel music listeners on Spotify grew an additional 46 percent. In another platform, Deezer, two of the most streamed songs in the country in 2024 were Christian.

So why has a country known for its vibrant music scene, robust recording industry, and a growing evangelical population been slow to produce original Christmas music?

Part of it may be a consequence of the Judaizing theological movement that gained traction in the 1990s, happening simultaneously as the Brazilian evangelical population began to explode, said Renato Marinoni, founder of the Institute of Worship, Culture, and Art.

In addition to advocating for the observance of Jewish festivals, this movement began to argue that the Bible doesn’t command the celebration of Jesus’ birth and that the date of Christmas was borrowed from pre-Christian pagan rituals. As this ideology spread, many churches began downsizing their own Christmas celebrations.

“During my childhood, the church I attended in Poços de Caldas always put up a large Christmas tree in the building, but over time this tradition disappeared,” said Marinoni.

The lack of original holiday music sets Brazil apart from its Latin American neighbors. In Hispanic America, as in the United States, Christian musicians regularly release Christmas albums. Artists such as Marcos Witt (an American, son of missionaries who lived in Mexico) and Mexico’s Jesús Adrián Romero have regularly composed and released Christmas music for years. Some of them, such as Witt’s “Emanuel, Dios con Nosotros Es” are sung by Spanish-speaking congregations in seasonal services.

The same phenomenon is not seen in Brazil. “In the last decade, Brazilian evangelicals have produced lots of original worship music, but this type of repertoire [linked to Christian festivities] has not been something artists have as a priority [as it is in other countries],” said Marcell Steuernagel, the director of Southern Methodist University’s master of sacred music program, who grew up in Curitiba, Brazil.

Compared to other parts of the world (and compared to those countries’ holidays), Brazilian Christians celebrate the festival in a more introspective, familiar way, said Fabiane Behling Luckow, an art history professor at the Universidade Federal de Pelotas.

Many Christmas practices, including the singing of Christian Christmas carols, came as a result of immigration. Protestant migrants and missionaries who arrived in Brazil in the 19th and 20th centuries brought their denominations’ hymnals and translated them, Luckow said.

Beyond their theological significance, celebrations such as Christmas connected newcomers to a distant motherland and family members across generations.

“This time of the year makes me very happy because I know that I’ll finally sing hymnal songs that remind me of my childhood and my grandmother,” said Luckow, whose family immigrated to Brazil from Germany.

Steuernagel agrees that Christmastime is marked by the celebration of traditions. “During the ‘ordinary time’ of the liturgical year, people turn to new music, to new releases,” he said. “During Christmas, as at Easter, people seek a return to the old and traditional.”

Traditional arrangements of Christmas carols are structurally and stylistically different from popular new worship songs, which tend to “have few chords and rely heavily on repetition,” said Anuacy Fontes, president of the Council of Music of the Presbyterian Church of Brazil. “It works very well for congregational singing, but it’s not what churches need at Christmas.”

The association of Christmas music with classical music, choirs, and orchestras may actually “discourage those whose work stems from a more popular context from exploring this area,” said Jorge Camargo, a Christian singer and composer. For instance, worship leaders may feel that Brazilian genres like Música Popular Brasileira, which incorporates samba’s guitar and drum, create “too simple” of a sound for the holiday.

Camargo, who has been active in the Christian music industry since 1980, issued a Christmas-themed album—Natal, Piano e Voz, in 2021. Only 2 of the album’s 11 songs were original.

The Christmas album, he said, is not among his most-played on digital platforms, even during the holiday season. “The upside is that I can promote it every year as if it were something new, because most people are unfamiliar with these recordings.”

The desire to add complexity and grandeur to Christmas celebrations has led many Brazilian churches to rely on cantatas (accompanied choral pieces that may have multiple movements, carols, or selections from larger works, like Handel’s Messiah), almost always translated from English and German, Marinoni said.

Almost all evangelical churches, even when they are small, have their own choirs. In general, Christmas services are special programs, with a brief preaching and more music than usual. Some congregations enact Nativity scenes. Most of these services happen before the week of Christmas—services closer to the holidays are often empty because many families travel to spend Christmas with their families in other cities.

Despite this national preference for old music, choirs, and orchestras, some dissenting voices have been raised. Defying the trend, some Christian musicians are dedicated to creating new Christmas songs with a focus on congregational singing. Purples, a band based in Limeira, in the state of São Paulo, has released a Christmas song every year since 2022.

“The Incarnation of Jesus, the one who made himself nothing as mentioned in Philippians 2:7, has always deeply moved me,” said Júlio Filho, Purples’ vocalist and songwriter.

“In 2022, when my son Cristiano was born, was when I realized how defenseless and vulnerable a baby is. That event made me come to a better understanding of the state of humiliation our Lord endured when he came into the world in such a profoundly human way.”

This was how “Emanuel,” Purples’ first Christmas song, came to life, which Júlio wrote for his small church to sing—and then was pleasantly surprised when he learned that other churches had incorporated the song into their services. The chorus says, “Christmas, our hope is born / Earth and heavens, bow to baby Jesus.”

The following year brought “Isaías 9,” whose lyrics are based on Isaiah 9:2, 6. With a simpler arrangement than “Emanuel,” the song was written to be accessible for worship leaders to teach their band and congregation. The band’s most recent track, “Glória,” released on November 25, includes vocals from a local church children’s choir and a portion that brings back Julio’s reflections on the Incarnation: “He became one of us. / He emptied himself. / By grace he delivered favor to his own.”

“Brazilian Christians are often concerned about anything that feels overly commercial, and this is also a concern shared by musicians,” Filho said. “But we need to be more intentional about celebrating occasions like Christmas and Easter so we are not flooded by tunes like Simone’s ‘Então É Natal.’”

- More from Franco Iacomini

Church Life

Shamans, Sorcerers, and Spirits: How Christians in Asia Grapple with the Supernatural

Compiled by Isabel Ong

Leaders discuss the rituals and practices impacting faith formation in Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Illustration by Christianity Today / Source Images: Getty

Asia has a crowded spirit world. And shamans are in the thick of the action.

Shamans serve as mediators between the human world and the spirit world. They communicate with spirits to achieve certain aims for individuals or communities, such as physical healing or alleviation of a disaster.

Unlike Buddhist monks or Hindu priests, shamans embrace spirit possession, said Chansamone Saiyasak, founder of Mekong Evangelical Mission in Thailand. “Shamanistic practices address basic needs, from health and security to social belonging and self-esteem, similar to Maslow’s hierarchy,” Saiyasak said.

In other parts of the world, an encounter with mystical forces beyond human comprehension may occur through consuming psychedelics like ayahuasca, a South American Indigenous concoction with hallucinogenic properties, or when seeing a sangoma, a South African witch doctor, to connect with an ancestor.

In Asia, engaging with spirits or divine entities is an activity that is often centered on the role of the shaman. Seeking counsel from a shaman is often seen as a legitimate and effective way to deal with everyday matters in life, from deciding who to marry to removing bad luck and healing diseases or illnesses.

Belief in the supernatural is widespread in the region: A majority of adults in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam say they believe in a god or unseen beings, according to Pew Research Center. Having an otherworldly experience is commonplace as well. “We often experience evil spirits before we experience the Holy Spirit,” said author Justin Tan in a CT piece on the Hungry Ghost Festival.

Christianity Today interviewed seven scholars on how shamanism shows up in certain Asian contexts, what its key sources are, how it has influenced their churches, and what Bible verses challenge it.

In South Korea, shamanism is growing in popularity as younger shamans work through YouTube and other social media platforms to assuage citizens’ anxiety for the future. In Japan and Thailand, animistic beliefs form the bedrock of shamanistic rituals. In Indonesia, people may regard pastors as “spiritual shamans” who wield special powers. And in the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam, folk religion, folk Catholicism, and Daoism (Taoism) have helped shamanism to thrive because many of their rituals encourage people to appease a spirit or venerate a deity.

While shamanism has helped to develop a greater awareness of the spirit world across many parts of Asia, engaging in shamanistic rituals or practices invites syncretism, opens up room for evil spirits to influence a person’s life, and goes against God’s injunctions on spiritism and sorcery, say these Christian leaders. Their responses can be found in the drop-down list above or linked below:

Indonesia Kristian Kusumawardana, head of the bachelor’s degree program in theology at Bandung Theological Seminary

Japan Martin Heisswolf, author of Japanese Understanding of Salvation: Soteriology in the Context of Japanese Animism

Philippines Dave Johnson, editor of the Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies at the Asia Pacific Theological Seminary

South Korea Yohong Roh, instructor of religious studies at Louisiana State University

Taiwan Tony Chuang, author of Religiosity and Gospel Transmission: Insights from Folk Religion in Taipei

Thailand Chansamone Saiyasak, president of Mekong Evangelical Mission

Vietnam Saralen Tran, Christian education lecturer at Hanoi Bible College

- More from Isabel Ong

Church Life

Shamanism in Indonesia

Kristian Kusumawardana

Can Christians practice ‘white knowledge’ to heal the sick and exorcize demons?

Illustration by Christianity Today / Source Images: Getty

When I was 14, a Christian friend introduced me to “white knowledge,” a supposedly mystical power from God that is distinct from the “black knowledge” of the devil. I memorized mantras, fasted, meditated, and performed special rituals. Once I mastered enough of this knowledge to become a “white shaman,” I used the power I felt I had acquired to heal the sick, exorcize demons, and protect people from black magic attacks, which occur through spells or charms that are used to harm others.

The deeper I delved into white knowledge, however, the darker my heart, mind, and emotions became. While I continued to attend church, I felt no peace. My mind didn’t understand Scripture, and my emotions were uncontrollable, although I was able to do good things that helped people.

Amid this confusion, I read 2 Corinthians 11:13–14 and realized that the white knowledge I had been studying was a deception of Satan, who masquerades as an angel of light. Nearly three years after I became a white shaman, I repented and experienced new birth. From then on, I have grown in my understanding of God’s Word.

Practicing shamanism is quite common in Indonesia, and it has a deep-rooted influence in the country’s culture. Shamans appear to possess supernatural power to either maintain or disrupt natural harmony. If they pray and perform rituals to heal the sick, expel evil spirits, support businesses, or maintain the harmony of life, people believe that their power originates from a god or a good spirit. These individuals are often called white shamans. Religious figures, including pastors, are often described as such.

In contrast, if certain individuals disrupt the harmony of life through their rituals by causing illness, economic loss, and suffering to others, people believe their power originates from evil spirits, and they are categorized as black shamans. They can easily become the target of mass anger and hatred. From 1998 to 1999, vigilantes killed more than 250 people suspected to be black shamans in East Java.

Because of traumatic memories from the 1998 killings, the Javanese word for shaman, dukun, carries a negative connotation. Those who practice witchcraft prefer to be called “paranormal,” or kyai in Javanese.

Recent events reveal the power that shamans continue to wield in Indonesian society.

In March 2022, a rain shaman performed rituals at a track on Lombok island to stop a downpour so that an international motorcycle race could proceed smoothly. While some people were against her actions, many were in favor, especially because the rain stopped. Last April, authorities arrested a village shaman in central Java for killing at least 12 people whom he had scammed in a money-multiplying scheme.

Generally, Christians in Indonesia reject shamanistic practices. Deuteronomy 18:10–12 firmly states that shamanistic rituals are “detestable to the Lord.” The account of Saul’s failure in 1 Chronicles 10:13–14 also serves as a stern warning to God’s people that consulting spirits, which is one form of shamanism, can bring about harsh judgment from God.

Some churches, especially those deeply rooted in traditional cultures, attempt to contextualize the gospel by adapting rituals commonly practiced by white shamans. For example, the Javanese Christian Church (Gereja Kristen Jawa) replaces ceremonies traditionally led by white shamans—like midodareni (a prewedding ceremony), mitoni (a seven-month pregnancy celebration),and nyewu dina (a thousand-day postdeath ceremony)—with thanksgiving services led by pastors.

The influence of the sacred-secular dichotomy in Indonesian Christianity, however, fosters spiritual shamanistic practices within the church. This dichotomy leads some to believe that there are certain people and objects that possess supernatural powers, enabling them to act as mediators with the spirit world.

In the church, this dichotomy makes pastors, the cross, the communion cup, and anointing oil be regarded as having supernatural powers, serving as mediators with God. As a result, the congregation may believe that only the pastor’s prayers are heard by God and that by touching or kissing the cross or communion cup or being anointed with oil, they will be blessed and healed by God.

This sacred-secular dichotomy should be increasingly dismantled. Evangelical church leaders should engage in intentional mentoring and discipleship so that congregations will increasingly understand and obey the Word of God. Seminaries can also conduct more research and studies on the gospel and culture to produce a more contextual theology.

Kristian Kusumawardana is head of the bachelor’s degree program in theology at Bandung Theological Seminary. Read more in our series’ lead article, Shamans, Sorcerers, and Spirits: How Christians in Asia Grapple with the Supernatural.

- More from Kristian Kusumawardana

Church Life

Shamanism in Japan

Martin Heisswolf

Christians in the country view pastors’ benedictions as powerful spiritual mantras.

Illustration by Christianity Today / Source Images: Getty

I lived in various parts of Japan, including the city of Yokohama, for 26 years. One of my neighbors was a practicing shaman who described herself as a “pipe” through which God’s blessings would flow. We invited her to our home and had deep conversations about our faiths, religious practices, and ups and downs in our work.

Japanese shamanism is not a religion but a way of exercising spiritual guidance in the context of an animist worldview. It likely arose from the shamanistic practices of the Ainu, an Indigenous ethnic group in northern Japan.

In ancient times, shamans were mainly involved in political affairs. The role of shaman was almost exclusively held by women in pre-Buddhist Japan around the eighth century. Today, shamans tell fortunes, connect the living and the dead as mediums, conduct salvific rites for the deceased, and provide counseling and healing ministries.

Three traditional groups of shamans exist today: the miko, who work mainly in Shinto shrines and dance to stabilize the cosmic axis connecting heaven and earth; the kuchiyose, who are masters of telepathy, mediumship, necromancy, and divination and gain knowledge that they use in fortune telling when they are possessed; and the jussha (magicians) and gyōsha (practitioners), who are key figures of Japanese “new religions” like the modern Shinto sect Tenrikyō.

In the last 50 years, interest in shamanism has rapidly increased. Some factors for this development include the abolishment of State Shintō in 1945, which allowed new sects to develop, and the growth of individualism, which freed people to fashion their own patchwork religions by drawing on old occult practices and supernatural phenomena. There are about ten times as many books on shamanism published today than in the 1950s.

Japan is a fast-paced and technologically advanced society, but when it comes to worldviews, the country has never been modern. High school and university education puts a thin layer of Western rationalism over an otherwise solid core of premodern thinking in which shamanism plays a vital role.

This is reflected in how the role of a pastor is conceived in some Japanese churches, where pastors’ prayers, particularly for healing, are considered more powerful than those of lay people. Only pastors can deliver the benediction, which is often understood as a mantra with inherent spiritual power. Pledging obedience to the pastor may also be part of public baptismal vows, and pastors can forbid church members from visiting other congregations.

Within the church, Japanese evangelicals must address the danger of spiritual abuse, especially as the culture favors a top-down leadership style. The Yawata scandal in 2005, where a pastor sexually abused women and girls in his church while claiming to have divine authority over them, shook the Japanese church and has since galvanized greater awareness and preventive action.

Mitsuru Murakami, a pastor and expert on churches that deteriorated into cults, and Jean Dôgen, a missionary from Truth Word Mission Church Kansai, founded organizations that help victims. Missionary William Wood’s book When Churches Turn into Cults: Fostering Biblical Discernment was also widely recognized and challenged pastors to rethink their leadership styles.

Outside the church, Japanese evangelicals must tackle worldview issues that are commonly only addressed by shamans or Shinto and Buddhist practitioners. These topics may include the felt need for protection against hostile spiritual beings, healing, discernment in important decisions, and ancestor veneration. If evangelicals don’t address these topics, Christianity will likely not be considered a relevant religion, which may lead believers to seek answers to these questions outside of the Christian faith.

The Old Testament is full of references that candidly speak against activities that fall into the field of Japanese shamanism. The most prominent shaman of his age, Balaam, attested to this: “There is no divination against Jacob, no evil omens against Israel. It will now be said of Jacob and of Israel, ‘See what God has done!’” (Num. 23:23). Divination and sorcery are not necessary for the people of God because the Lord will guide and provide for them. Seeking instruction from any other god would be an act of infidelity.

Martin Heisswolf is the author of Japanese Understanding of Salvation: Soteriology in the Context of Japanese Animism. Read more in our series’ lead article, Shamans, Sorcerers, and Spirits: How Christians in Asia Grapple with the Supernatural.

- More from Martin Heisswolf

Church Life

Shamanism in the Philippines

Dave Johnson

Filipinos’ desire to connect with the supernatural shouldn’t be eradicated, but transformed and redirected toward Christ.

Illustration by Christianity Today / Source Images: Getty

Every aspect of life in precolonial Philippines was religious. When the Spanish came in 1521, they brought Catholicism with them. Some Filipinos converted without changing their worldviews. Instead of venerating the deities of pre-Spanish traditional practices, Filipinos switched to venerating Catholic saints that performed the same functions—what we call folk Catholicism today.

The average Filipino sees no contradiction between going to a Catholic priest for forgiveness of sin and to a witchdoctor for healing. Many grow up doing both, as the Catholic church does not take a hard stand against folk rituals and practices.

Instead of shamans, Filipinos use the term witch doctors. Witch doctors are generally seen as honored members of society who care well for people seeking treatment for physical and psychological ailments. Sorcerers, meanwhile, are the “bad boys” of society who place curses and hexes on people.

There are two types of witch doctors in the country. The albularyo use divinatory practices to determine and diagnose illnesses, prescribe herbal remedies, and use various incantations in their healing processes. They will often write out a mantra called an oración—from the Spanish word for prayer—that can be written on paper and swallowed with water. In some cases, the mantra is tattooed on the client’s skin.

Another kind of witch doctor, the espiritista, will often be possessed by a spirit and go into a trancelike state before prescribing a remedy. When the spirit leaves their body, they remember nothing about what they did during that time. Some are also known to be able to put their hand inside of a human body with no medical instruments, no incision, and no scars left behind to allegedly perform healing.

The practice of seeing a witch doctor persists in the Philippines because modern society doesn’t address people’s deepest felt needs: How do I know my children are going to be successful or healthy? How do I know what the right day to get married is? The desire to connect with the supernatural is very strong, and no amount of cell phone technology or the internet is going to alter that.

Filipinos shouldn’t lose their desire for the supernatural. Christian leaders can redirect this desire toward God alone, not the Virgin Mary, the saints, or spirits. The goal is not to eradicate the worldview of the Filipinos but to transform it. The amulets, talismans, and paraphernalia used in witch-doctor practices ultimately have to be confronted and destroyed, but that process won’t happen right away.

People need time and discipleship needs to happen, especially as evangelical Christianity in the Philippines has tended to ignore issues relating to shamanism. Pentecostal missionaries, however, had a greater openness to the spirit world when they arrived in the country, even if they came with the same biases as other evangelical missionaries.

One verse in Scripture that challenges shamanistic practices is Exodus 12:12, where God says, “I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt.” God reveals the utter impotence of the other gods. Another Bible verse I often refer to is Colossians 2:15, where Jesus publicly held up the powers of darkness for display at the Cross, much like a Roman conqueror dragging slaves with him into town when he returned victorious in battle.

These verses strengthen my faith and my resolve that we deal with these issues. I encourage pastors to teach in ways that deal with a person’s worldview instead of just addressing behavioral issues. A theology of creation is critical to dealing with worldview, because many Filipinos think that the spirits control the weather, fertility, and other experiences they face.

I interviewed 70 witch doctors in the Philippines as part of my master’s thesis research in 1997. All but one allowed me to observe their ceremonies and pray for them. The witch doctor who wanted us to leave her healing session had entered an altered state of consciousness but found it “too noisy” with us there. My team and I were excited because we felt that the demon spirit she claimed was possessing her could not move with the Spirit of God dwelling in us while we were present.

Another time, as we observed a group of fellow witch doctors going into a trance, I asked an espiritista, “Do we know what spirit is occupying and possessing them?” She replied, “Well, it could be the spirit of Saint Peter, San Antonio di Padua [Anthony of Padua], or the Holy Spirit. We won’t know until the end of the session when the spirit reveals itself.”

As long as people get healed, they very seldom question the source, which is one of the things that makes these practices dangerous—because people don’t realize what spirits they are dealing with and that these supernatural forces are in rebellion against God.

Dave Johnson is the editor of the Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies at the Asia Pacific Theological Seminary. Read more in our series’ lead article, Shamans, Sorcerers, and Spirits: How Christians in Asia Grapple with the Supernatural.

- More from Dave Johnson

Church Life

Shamanism in South Korea

Yohong Roh

Why Christians in the country hold onto trees while praying outdoors.

Illustration by Christianity Today / Source Images: Getty

In the last decade, shamanism has undergone a revival in South Korea, particularly among younger generations, which are moving away from institutional religions. While not entirely supplanting traditional institutional religions, shamans offer personalized, one-on-one counseling that appeals to younger Koreans.

This resurgence is evident in popular culture, as seen in the highly successful 2024 film Exhuma and reality TV like Possessed Love, a dating show featuring good-looking shamans. Such shows offer a modernized and sophisticated portrayal of young shamans. Unlike traditional institutional religions, shamans have become accessible spiritual consultants, equipped with an approachable and nonauthoritarian image.

Shamanism represents one of the most ancient forms of religion in Korea. Its date of origin is unclear, but it was around the Three Kingdoms Period and before Buddhism arrived in the sixth century.

Shamanistic rituals, like communicating with dead souls, were regarded as obscene and vulgar in the Chosŏn dynasty (1392–1910) and continued to face stigmatization during the postcolonial era. Despite this public stigma, shamanism has maintained its significance in private spheres and is increasingly recognized as a distinctive Korean cultural heritage. Notably, shamanism exists outside official religious statistics in Korea. Many nominally nonreligious Koreans acknowledge spiritual entities and engage in Buddhist or shamanistic practices.

The relationship between shamanism and Korean Christianity reflects traditional gender roles in the Korean religious landscape. Since the establishment of the Chosŏn dynasty, shamanism and Buddhism were relegated to the private female sphere of the household and pushed out of public life. Despite persecution, both traditions persisted privately, largely practiced by women fulfilling customary spiritual duties. This pattern continues in Korean Christianity, where women’s religious roles center on practices for family success and health.

This traditional female engagement with spiritual entities has shaped, whether consciously or unconsciously, Korean evangelicals’ understanding and sensitivity toward spiritual beings. Among Korean evangelicals, the concept of spiritual warfare is not merely abstract but representative of the tangible interference of evil spirits in their daily lives. This awareness of these evil spirits is supplemented by the contemporary revival of shamanism.

One example of this spiritual sensitivity is found in revival meetings called simnyŏng puhŭnghoe. Since the 1970s, these gatherings have emphasized healing practices reminiscent of traditional shamanistic rituals, as noted by James Huntley Grayson in Korea: A Religious History. The healing prayer, where revivalists known as puhŭngsa lay hands on believers, demonstrates a clear connection to shamanism’s strong tradition of therapeutic rituals. In addition, there is a prevalent belief that the spiritual authority of the person performing such a prayer can lead to more powerful divine responses.

An extension of this practice can be found in a hall of prayer, or kidowŏn. Some churches have built large prayer facilities on mountains, which are traditionally recognized by shamans as a spiritually rich environment. Shamans often bring their clients to the mountains to perform rituals there, because this location is viewed as more efficacious than the shaman’s own shrine. This also influenced the development of san’gido (mountain prayer) culture among Korean Christians, which involves praying outdoors or praying while holding onto trees as a sign of strong devotion to God.

Korean shamanism fundamentally conflicts with Christian theology, particularly as articulated in Deuteronomy 18:9–18, which explicitly warns against mediums, spiritists, and those who consult the dead. These practices are central to the role of Korean shamans, who, as spirit mediums, communicate with the dead and resolve spiritual issues by invoking the power of strong deities.

While shamanism has helped to grow an awareness of spiritual beings in Korean society and has become trendy among young Koreans, it is ultimately opposed to God’s commands. Churches can address the allure of shamanism in their congregations by showing young people who Jesus is and what he has done. Most churches talk about Jesus as God, but they do not emphasize his humanity as much. Some Korean YouTubers, who may not identify as Christian, are sharing more about Jesus’ actions on earth, like pursuing justice and helping the poor. One animated video published in September about Jesus’ compassion and forgiveness has racked up more than a million views.

Yohong Roh is an instructor of religious studies at Louisiana State University. Read more in our series’ lead article, Shamans, Sorcerers, and Spirits: How Christians in Asia Grapple with the Supernatural.

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Church Life

Shamanism in Taiwan

Tony Chuang

In a land teeming with ghosts, is there room for the Holy Spirit to work?

Illustration by Christianity Today / Source Images: Getty

Shamanism in Taiwan is thriving because folk religion is thriving. Folk religion is not just a religion in Taiwan; it is part of an accepted worldview. Participating in shamanistic rituals is quite popular in both rural areas and urban centers.

I grew up in downtown Taipei and visited temples several times a week before I became a Christian. I never sought physical healing or experienced possession, but I watched my cousins and friends experience these things.

For example, long lines are normal at Xingtian Temple, located near the heart of Taipei. On one visit four years ago, I saw 50 to 100 people lining up to receive healing, a blessing, or some other ritual from two shamans. A young adult who looked to be around 20 years old appeared to be having a demon driven out by a female shaman. He shook profusely as she chanted. Most of the chant sounded like gibberish to me, but there were a few other shamans reciting what looked like Laozi’s Daodejing behind them.

Seeing a shaman is generally accepted in Taiwan because it is done out of practicality. If a person is believed to be tormented by a ghost, shamanistic rituals are seen as the fastest and most common way to get rid of it. In a land that accepts ghosts, spirits, and demons as part of normal living, shamanism is also a regular part of life. It’s not strange for someone to say that they went to a shaman to deal with an unwelcome spirit.

Taiwanese people who seek help from a shaman are not morally depraved. Neither are they desperate people who are willing to go to any lengths to attain something. Their attitude toward shamanism is no different than someone choosing a hammer from Home Depot: “The hammer works, it’s a reputable store, and it offers a fair price, so it’s good enough for me.”

Many shamanistic practices in Taiwan enlist the help of demons in the spirit world. In this sense, I highly discourage any participation in such rituals. Yet when we ignore shamanism’s real presence and strong impact in Taiwan, we risk losing both Christians and non-Christians. This is because shamanism answers daily concerns that the church does not address, particularly in the “middle realm” of ghosts, spirits, and dead ancestors according to American missiologist Paul Hiebert.

Taiwanese Christians can promote James 5 healing specifically as an alternative to shamanistic rituals for both healing and spirit possession. As Scripture says, “Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven” (James 5:14–15).

In Taipei, a large and growing Christian community is Bread of Life Christian Church. The Pentecostal congregation regularly holds prayer and healing services. When people are healed in those church services, it is celebrated and adds to God’s renown, as he is seen to work efficaciously through these church ministers.

When Taiwanese people believe they are possessed by ghosts, they now have an alternative to the shamans at Xingtian Temple. They can visit Christian ministers, who can cast out ghosts or bring healing just as effectively. To the average Taiwanese person, it doesn’t matter whether the ritual is done in the name of Jesus or the name of Holy Emperor Guan; the most important thing is that it works.

Shamanistic ideas or practices have shaped the contours of Taiwanese theology in evangelical circles and beyond. When shamans down the street are driving out ghosts and speaking to spirits, churches are compelled to develop a richer angelology and demonology that could answer questions about these entities. Likewise, when people turn to folk-religion rituals for physical and spiritual healing, churches theologize more fully on what healing looks like in a Christian context.

Tony Chuang is the author of Religiosity and Gospel Transmission: Insights from Folk Religion in Taipei. Read more in our series’ lead article, Shamans, Sorcerers, and Spirits: How Christians in Asia Grapple with the Supernatural.

- More from Tony Chuang

Church Life

Shamanism in Thailand

Chansamone Saiyasak

When guardian spirits disrupt river baptisms, how can believers respond?

Illustration by Christianity Today / Source Images: Getty

Shamanism in Thailand has roots in ancient animism, predating Buddhism and Hinduism. Animism involves belief in supernatural beings and forces that influence lives and the natural order. In this context, shamanism centers on interactions with spirits to affect people’s well-being.

Today, shamanism exists within Thailand’s unique blend of Buddhism, Hinduism, and animistic traditions. Buddhist monks and Hindu priests can interact with spirits but do not invite possession. Shamans, by contrast, actively participate in possession, making their role distinct in Thai spirituality.

Thai society respects shamans, known as mo phi, because their work addresses life’s practical and spiritual concerns. They are valued community figures and respected spiritual guides who influence spirits to prevent harm and promote health, prosperity, and peace.

These practices endure in modern Thailand because they fulfill deep-rooted needs for health, safety, prosperity, and well-being. By addressing challenges that modern medicine cannot resolve, shamanism remains relevant. Such practices are especially prevalent in rural areas where rituals are held to influence spirits, meeting community needs and maintaining the role of shamanism in daily life.

Shamanism’s influence has an interesting overlap with the growth of Christianity in Thailand, especially within Pentecostal and Charismatic movements. These Christian groups address needs like health and security, which align with shamanistic goals. By offering assurance and a sense of peace through prayer and healing, these movements resonate with Thai cultural values. The shared focus on meeting practical life needs has allowed Christianity to attract individuals who are practicing shamanism or who might otherwise turn to shamanism.

Shamanistic beliefs have also subtly shaped Thai evangelical theology, particularly in the understanding of God and healing. Shamanism preserves the idea of a relational supernatural being, making the Christian concept of a personal, approachable God accessible to Thai Christians. Furthermore, the emphasis on healing within shamanistic practices aligns with Thai Christians’ belief in divine restoration for health and well-being, enhancing the appeal of Christian healing ministries.

The Thai church formally rejects spirit-based practices, like tying thread around one’s wrist to bring a wandering soul back to one’s body, but recognizes the spiritual orientation in Thai culture. Consequently, Pentecostal and charismatic churches emphasize experiences like healing and exorcism, aligning with the cultural expectations of Thai Christians. Although these practices aren’t directly influenced by shamanism, they reflect an awareness of the spiritual framework of Thai society, making the church’s message accessible and relevant.

Thai people like using symbols to denote their beliefs, and this can also be helpful in evangelism. While most churches in Thailand refrain from using candles due to their association with shamanistic rituals, lighting candles during a funeral can symbolize the light of God and provide Thais with a more concrete understanding of the gospel.

In my ministry, I’ve encountered the challenges of engaging with shamanistic practices. In one experience, a woman named Noi faced serious consequences for converting to Christianity. Her family, adherents of the Tiet spirit, blamed her faith for sicknesses in the family and pressured her to perform rituals to appease the spirit. She was later expelled from the clan.

In another case, during a baptism by the Mekong River, a shaman claimed that the guardian spirit of the area planned to take the believer’s life at the baptism site as punishment for becoming a Christian. However, a snake appeared at the site and chased the believers away to another location. Later, a villager drowned at the first baptism site. The shaman attributed this tragedy to the guardian spirit’s anger over the baptized believer’s acceptance of Christ.

These incidents underscore the need for deep discipleship for Thai Christians, who often face spiritual and social pressures. Bible passages like Deuteronomy 18:9–13, where God forbids occult practices, and Ephesians 6:10–20, which talks about putting on the full armor of God, discourage shamanistic rituals and advise reliance solely on God for guidance and protection. For Thai believers, these verses reinforce that security is found in God, helping them navigate a context rich in spirit-based traditions.

Chansamone Saiyasak is the president of Mekong Evangelical Mission. Read more in our series’ lead article, Shamans, Sorcerers, and Spirits: How Christians in Asia Grapple with the Supernatural.

- More from Chansamone Saiyasak

Church Life

Shamanism in Vietnam

Saralen Tran

Folk religion has shaped believers’ perceptions of God as a genie in a lamp.

Illustration by Christianity Today / Source Images: Getty

I grew up in a Christian family in Da Nang, Vietnam, and was not exposed to shamanistic practices. But my Hmong students have experienced this. One student shared that her father, a new believer, once fell ill and sought a shaman for help.

The shaman talked to a spirit that only he could see. He told her father that three evil spirits were possessing his body and that he could only be freed if he offered three boiled animals—a chicken, pig, and cow—to that spirit. Her father did so and recovered in a few days. Later, my student asked me, “Did the power of God or that of the shaman heal my father?”

Shamanism in Vietnam is rooted in the worship of nature and the spirit world. The origin of shamanism in the country is not documented. Scholars assume that it arose from Daoism (Taoism) over the course of thousands of years and then became part of folk beliefs.

Today, shamanism is most commonly practiced in worshiping the Mother Goddess (Mẫu), an agricultural folk religion that imbues natural elements with divine power, such as protection from disasters. During the lên đồng ritual, a female medium dressed in bright clothing, or a male shaman who puts on makeup and wears women’s clothes, is often possessed by a spirit and performs sacred dances. The worship ceremony is occasionally conducted in the Mẫu temple for a group of 20 to 40 people, providing a space for devotees to connect with the spirit and pray for protection and good fortune.

Other forms of shamanism also vary among ethnic minorities, like the Sán Dìu in Quảng Ninh province or the Lô Lô in Cao Bằng province, where a shaman is a powerful person in the village who performs ritual acts to heal the sick, rebuke evil spirits, and assure protection.

In 2016, UNESCO recognized worship of the Mother Goddess as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Vietnam’s government has taken some measures to promote this religion, as it is perceived as an important part of Vietnamese folk culture because it involves a combination of music, dance, art, and history telling. It helps to maintain and transfer traditional values, such as cultural integration and living in harmony, from generation to generation.

Vietnamese people continue to hold to a shamanistic ideology. They believe in a spirit world that simultaneously exists with the real world. To connect with and discover the unknown, people believe they need a shaman. Their gods and ancestors can help them solve difficult problems and protect them from negative forces, such as evil spirits and restless souls.

This can be helpful in evangelism, as the exorcisms that evangelicals, especially Pentecostals, perform in Vietnam are often perceived as shamanistic acts by people who go to pastors to seek special healing or deliverance from demons.

However, the way that believers conceptualize their theology may also reflect their folk beliefs. For example, some Christians have an idea of God as an omnipresent and omniscient judge. They also may view God as a genie in a lamp who will grant people what they want, and they may get frustrated if that does not happen.

To some extent, church has become a place where people ask for healing, wealth, and luck. While Christians don’t participate in worshiping the Mother Goddess, as it is considered idolatrous, they often favor listening to powerful preachers who possess the gift of healing.

The idea of inner healing has also become popular recently, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. Young people, including believers, are increasingly interested in mindfulness therapy, soul care, and yoga as a means of dealing with depression, anxiety, and other stressors—similar to shamanism’s emphasis on connecting with nature.

These practices are neutral exercises for mental and physical health if they are not attached to worshiping a particular divine entity or forging a connection with a spirit. Christians, however, should know that God is their only source of healing. Church leaders and pastors can generate more dialogue and discussion on biblical perspectives of healing and examine these practices in light of the Bible.

Vietnamese Christians can also relate to the story of Saul asking a medium to call Samuel’s spirit from the dead in 1 Samuel 28. In Vietnamese culture, such summoning rituals often occur during the New Year or on death anniversaries as people seek to discern what their family member’s last will or unfinished wishes are. Some pastors explain that God allowed the conversation between Saul and Samuel to happen because they speak directly to each other, not through a medium.

Saralen Tran is a Christian education lecturer at Hanoi Bible College. Read more in our series’ lead article, Shamans, Sorcerers, and Spirits: How Christians in Asia Grapple with the Supernatural.

- More from Saralen Tran

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