Religious Factors and the Use of Drugs among Seventh-day Adventists in Ghana.

Abstract

The Seventh-day Adventists are known to be very conservative in spiritual matters and take a strong stand against the use of illicit drugs.  The Church emphasizes that alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and all forms of narcotics drugs are harmful to the body and strongly encourage its members to abstain from them. For vibrant living, the Seventh-day Adventist church urges everyone to follow a lifestyle that avoids tobacco products, alcoholic beverages, and the misuse of drugs. The Seventh-day Adventist church in Ghana has never been studied to ascertain the church members’ adherence to its teachings on drug. The aim of this study is to assess the issues of drug use and the church member’s adherence to the drug policy of the church.

The study employed descriptive research design using structured survey instrument for data gathering.  A sample population of 554 was drawn from the church.

The result showed that 86.5% and 97.80% were aware of the church’s teaching on harmful drug and on alcohol and tobacco respectfully.  On the issue of illicit drug use, 80% has never taken any narcotic drug while 20% have used marijuana. The principal reason that prevents church members from taking drug is their commitment to God.  The other reasons were concerns for health and living a responsible life. Approximately 56% occasionally take in some alcohol while 19.9% sometimes smoke cigarette.

Keywords: Drug abuse, religiosity, Spirituality, Seventh-day Adventist Church.