IT is population census time in Ghana now, being scheduled to cover a couple of weeks. It follows the last exercise which was carried out in 2000, that is exactly ten years ago, giving enough period for the growth of the population and related features.

Apart from the head count to ascertain the number of people currently in h country, the census will gather data on developments in other areas.

One of such cases which is alarming and puzzling is the teeming crowds of women in the so-called spiritual, Pentecostal or charismatic churches. Since the emergence of these churches, there has been a mass exodus from the orthodox or traditional churches, namely Roman Catholic, Methodist, Anglican, Presbyterian, Adventist and others.

The spiritual churches have sprang up all over the place, even at the nooks and corners in the new housing areas, and more of these are on the way owing to the high patronage of women.

Indeed, it has become more fashionable for pastors to break away from one spiritual church or the other and establish their own churches. They do so with help of their wives, family members, some friends and fellow brothers and sisters who canvass for members by singing the high praises of the pastors.

To disguise their abysmal identity, they claim to be “international ministries,” being recognised by reputable external religious organizations or having a network of branches established in other countries of the world.

Their mode of worship is entirely different from the rigid, sober and penitent praying and quiescent hyms-singing order which is characteristic of the orthodox churches. In their case, they engage in excessive noise-making with powerful electronic musical instruments, speaking and praying in tongues.

Another common feature is the all-night church service – an ecstatic and hectic prayer session held on a fixed day of the week, more preferably Fridays which lead to the weekend. It starts from the late evening to dawn or daybreak.

All these rowdy ways of worship is a source of nuisance to the residents in the communities where the spiritual churches are located. The situation is worse if two or three of the churches are situated in close proximity as it is the case in some residential areas. The noise reverberates and tends to disturb their own worship services which are held almost simultaneously in the same locality.

Unlike their orthodox counterparts, the spiritual churches are beehives of activities ranging from prayer meetings, bible studies, retreats, conventions, crusades, fasting and counseling periods, healing and deliverance sessions to miracle and break-through encounters. Hardly a day, week and month passes without one special programme taking place with high attendance of women.

And such is the characteristic nature of the spiritual churches which seek not only to give people hope and assurance for real salvation but also solutions for their personal problems – financial, business, employment, marriage, family, health, mental, domestic etc.

This point leads to the pertinent question why the exodus of women from the othodox religious denominations into the increasing number of spiritual churches. What attracts them to these sects? Has any attempt been made to delve into this development?

The notion is that women are more numerous and religious than men, hence their pre-dominance in church. But this is beside the point because the issue is about the large women attendance in the spiritual churches compared with the orthodox ones.

Primarily, the mode of worship is seen as more fashionable and fascinating to women. The drumming and dancing, speaking and praying in tongues as well as the loud noise-making are more exciting ways of communicating freely and directly with God than the straitjacket practices and steps of passing through intermediaries. There is freedom of worship, so to speak.

In the administration of the spiritual churches, women with proven sterling qualities are recognized and given high positions as pastors, ministers, deaconess, heads of committees and fellowship leaders. They play important roles, showing that whatever a man does, a woman can do it better.

And there are more programmes of activities for them to participate in as organizers, supporters or members. Think of the crusades, conventions, all-night sessions, retreats, prayer meetings, bible studies, counselling and outreach services unlike the choir and fellowship units which exist for women in the orthodox churches.

Through the powerful preaching’s and prayers of the pastors, women are convinced that the spiritual churches are the gateway to salvation, as they become “Born Again Christians” given the opportunities of healing and deliverance from the devil and solving their personal problems.

As stated in the Holy Scriptures, the Serpent influenced Eve to eat the forbidden fruit from the tree in the Garden of Eden. So it is, naturally, that women are more susceptible to believe things that are spiritual, especially the outbursts and pronouncements of pastors.

Lastly, there is one obvious point to note in the mode of dressing of women in the spiritual churches. The style is to portray affluence, turning the churches into fashion houses or beauty parades. Some pastors have managed to stick their necks out with objections about this trend as it is outrageous and smacks of immorality which is absolutely incompatible with the decency of Christian religion.

All in all, the flock of women in the spiritual churches and their proliferation is mind-boggling, and it is important for the population census to collect the necessary data on it for effective measures to be taken to address the situation, especially its impacts on marriages, families and the society at large