Ghanaians are known to be religious people who believe in God and follow religious practices in line with their beliefs.

We have Christians, Muslims and traditional believers. There are others who share faith in other re­ligious practices, but no matter the religious faith or beliefs, Ghanaians must do all they can to put their faith into action.

It is not just enough to believe in God and keep to religious prac­tices such as going to church every day in the case of Christians or regularly visiting mosques as seen in the case of Muslims.

Similarly, traditional believers should not just be seen to pour libations in line with their beliefs or engage in some other religious practices without showing real love to their fellow men and women found in their communities.

Being religious is good, but it should be able to transform our behaviour into meaningful actions such as eschewing social and finan­cial vices. Again, it is important for religious people to participate actively in programmes and ac­tivities that will bring about rapid socioeconomic development in the country.

If all religious people can act in this way, it will go a long way to­ward overcoming many of the prob­lems we face in this country. The issue of bribery and corruption is tearing the nation apart. However, many of the negative tendencies in society are usually undertaken by people who share faith in various beliefs related to religion.

It is unfortunate that religious people such as Muslims, Christians and other believers engage in prac­tices that go contrary to their faith or beliefs. This is not to say that people of different faiths or beliefs are bad people who are not fit to live in the society.

Many of them are doing their best to eschew corruption, em­bezzlement of funds, dishonestly thwarting justice, or, in one way or another, contributing to the socioeconomic degradation of the country.

Within the Christian community, the clergy are heard preaching the word and encouraging their fol­lowers to do what is right for the purposes of national development.

In the same way, Muslim leaders and Imams teach their followers to strictly follow the Quran so as to keep away from what is ungod­ly. Traditional believers are also expected to lead good lives in line with their religious beliefs.

The Spectator believes that all Ghanaians, irrespective of their beliefs, must put into practice their religious faith and beliefs so that they can be seen to be living up­right lives within and outside their places of worship.

We, therefore, expect all Gha­naians to eschew what is negative so that cheating, stealing, discrim­ination, destruction of one another and all other social vices can be minimised, if not completely elim­inated.

If everyone, whether religious or non-religious, will keep to this principle and practice of doing only what is good, the nation will soon see tremendous growth in all sectors of the economy. When this happens, the gross domestic product will increase and national welfare will also increase in a way that will be good for every person in this great nation of ours.

The challenge is great, but it can be achieved if we all come together to follow our religious and non-religious beliefs to promote common growth in line with the overall national agenda.