Award-winning Ghanaian filmmaker Leila Djansi has opened up about her views on religion, revealing why she decided to stop taking her daughters to church.

In a thought-provoking social media post, Djansi reflected on some of the religious practices she experienced while growing up in Ghana, particularly the requirement for women to cover their heads during worship and prayer.

“Just saw a reel where a woman covered her head with a handkerchief before praying over her food. It brought back memories of growing up in Ghana. In church, our heads were compulsorily covered,” she wrote.

According to the filmmaker, such practices were taught as essential aspects of Christian faith during her youth. However, she observed that many of these once-strict church traditions are no longer commonly enforced.

She noted that many pastors and church leaders who command large followings today no longer adhere to some of the customs they previously preached, including the practice of women covering their heads during prayer.

“Today, many of the pastors people run to for dawn prayers, midnight prayers and inspirational teaching do not cover their heads. Not their wives either,” she stated.

Djansi said these changes prompted her to question how religious teachings evolve over time and whether interpretations of scripture are influenced by education, culture and language.

“So did the Bible get edited? Or did understanding evolve? Did education and language change interpretation?” she asked.

The filmmaker explained that witnessing changes in religious teachings over the years contributed to her decision to distance her daughters from organised religion.

“I watched people build lives around certainty preached by a pastor, then twenty years later the rules changed,” she wrote.

Despite her reservations about organised religion, Djansi emphasized that faith and moral values remain an important part of how she is raising her children.

“I still teach my girls to pray. I teach them to be good humans. I teach them do unto others. I teach them to notice opportunity and grab it instead of waiting passively for ‘God’s time,’” she said.

She further encouraged people to study religious texts independently rather than relying solely on religious leaders for interpretation.

“Today, we can all read the Bible. We have internet to compare versions and read history for context. We can all ask questions. We can all think,” she wrote.

Djansi also questioned why many Christian practices differ from those observed in Judaism, the faith traditionally associated with Jesus Christ.

“Many of the things we do in Christianity today are not done in Judaism, which is the faith Jesus himself practiced. So what changed? What happened?” she asked.

According to her, Christianity as it exists today has been shaped by centuries of interpretation, cultural influence, institutional developments and tradition.

“Christianity as we practice it today is shaped by human beings. That is simply history,” she stated.

Nevertheless, the filmmaker acknowledged that Christianity continues to offer valuable principles that positively impact society.

“In fact, I still think Christianity carries some of the strongest values around compassion, forgiveness, service, dignity and hope,” she wrote.

Djansi concluded her reflections by encouraging believers to engage deeply with their faith, seek understanding and evaluate whether the teachings they follow promote wisdom, growth and love.

“Read. Think. Question. Pray. And ask yourself whether the doctrine you follow is producing life, wisdom, growth and love,” she advised.

Source By BigTimezGH