This study is concerned with how chieftaincy has responded to the phenomenon of Pentecostal Christianity, focusing particularly on those chiefly figures who are installed as traditional chiefs in certain Akan areas of contemporary Ghana. Because of the chronological focus of my dissertation (from the 1990s to the present), I specifically explore these dynamics within Ghana’s largest Pentecostal organisation, the Church of Pentecost (CoP) which has several hundred members who are also installed as Akan chiefs. The phenomenon of individual CoP members both acting as “traditional” chiefs and receiving approval from the Church for doing so is a recent development, dating back to 2014 when the Church first organised a conference for chiefs, queen mothers and other “traditional” political actors. My focus on chieftaincy – the heart of Akan indigenous cultures – allows me to assess the assertion of most scholars of Pentecostalism in Africa that this strand of Christianity is antagonistic to indigenous cultures. I, therefore, explore how CoP chiefs negotiate the complex terrain of Pentecostal Christianity and Akan indigenous religion.

Specifically, I examine the following questions: Do CoP chiefs see themselves as Christian chiefs? In which case do they see themselves as Christians transforming a “traditional” institution? But more broadly, do both Pentecostals and “traditional” chiefs see themselves as engaging in a strategically pragmatic effort to make themselves relevant in contemporary Ghana? How do the attempts made by the CoP to engage Akan chiefs reflect the general socio-political and cultural mood in Ghana? How do these CoP chiefs negotiate their legitimacy as both political figures and religious leaders? And specifically, how do they negotiate this dual identity? What are the areas of disagreements and incompatibility between the Church and chiefs?

My research on Akan chiefs and Pentecostal Christianity was primarily ethnographic in nature, consisting of participant-observation of fieldwork as well as extensive interviews with twenty-eight key persons, including Akan chiefs, indigenous Akan historians and CoP key members (and those who simultaneously inhabit all of these identities). I also relied upon my own immersion with the CoP, as a member since the 1990s, to collect data. One of my key findings is that most of the CoP chiefs did not submit to chiefly rituals during installation and they also reject chiefly rituals in favour of Pentecostal rituals. Because of this, these chiefs are considered "spiritually naked" and are prone to all kinds of "spiritual" attacks with some manifesting in protracted chieftaincy litigation in national courts. To "cover" their spiritual nakedness and to reform Christianity, most of these chiefs weaponize speaking in tongues, as well as sacralise the Bible as a spiritual defence. The chiefs are also involved in culturalisation – that is to say, chiefly rituals are recast as “harmless” cultural practices. In ways like these, chiefs seek to transform and “Christianise” chieftaincy as they selectively abolish some chiefly rituals and re-invest others with new meaning. Most importantly, these chiefs invest in the provision of social services to their constituents as a way to ward off criticism from their conservative traditional elders and also to attract the support of the political elites of Ghana. In all of this, my thesis aims to contribute to studies of Pentecostalism and indigenous cultures and religion in Africa. It equally adds to broader debates on the complex relations between Pentecostalism, chieftaincy, and politics in Ghana.