A Thematic Engagement of Literature on Prayer Mountains as Sacred Spaces in Contemporary Ghanaian Christianity

Sacred spaces and their attendant pilgrimage attractions seem to be some of the universal and more obvious features of world religions. One of the emerging phenomena within contemporary Ghanaian Christianity is Christians’ pilgrimage to some sacred mountains. Even though scholarship on this phenomenon is gradually bourgeoning within the Ghanaian epistemic context, a thematic engagement of literature on Prayer Mountains (PMs) as sacred spaces in the Ghanaian Christian setting seems to have fallen out of scholars’ grasp. This paper, therefore, employs discourse analysis as a method to elucidate some selected themes. In light of discourse analysis, the paper concludes, among others, that the evolution of the PMs phenomenon in Ghanaian Christianity is likely to cause a rethinking of the conventional notion of PMs as spaces for transcendental encounters. Such a revision may result in the emergence of other themes or concepts of future academic relevance. Keywords: Discourse analysis, sacred, profane, sacred space, prayer rituals, Prayer Mountains