Okyeame Kwame, a rapper from Ghana, has admitted that he does not follow any particular religion because he draws inspiration from all of them.
Speaking to Kwame Dadzie on Joy Prime, he disclosed that he is an omnist who draws inspiration and faith from a variety of religious beliefs but does not identify with any one particular religion.
“I was born as a Christian in the Methodist Church and then I grew up in the Christian faith until I was maybe 14 years.
Most of my values are Christian. My father was a Catholic. My mother went to the Methodist Church so I grew up doing catechism and all that. I went to an Anglican school so most of my socialisation has been very Christian. But in my adult life, I don’t think I can call myself a Christian in the full sense. I call myself an omnist,” he said.
The “Rap Doctor” claimed that depending on the aspect of various religious traditions he resonates with, he finds spiritual guidance there. He looks to African traditions, for instance, when it comes to respecting rivers and trees and appreciating nature.
His love for animals makes him a Buddhist; when it comes to the Bible’s teaching on “love your neighbor as yourself,” he is a Christian; however, because of his extreme respect for God and his belief that all authority belongs to him, he also becomes a Muslim.
He continued by saying he didn’t want to restrict himself to one religion in order to miss out on the benefits of the other faiths.
Asked if he believes in Jesus Christ, Okyeame Kwame said: “Belief is a dangerous word. Very dangerous. I think that one of key reasons why Africans don’t develop as quickly as we want to is because of the word ‘belief’.
He asserted that knowing something is more powerful than believing it; believing something simply means accepting it without questioning its veracity, even in the absence of any supporting empirical data.
“The question of believing in Jesus Christ, that I don’t have an answer for because I wasn’t there. It happened 2000 years ago. There is no way for me to verify whether it happened or not. However, do I know that the life Jesus led, if I led that life I would be a better person, I would say yes,” he the host Kwame Dadzie.
When Okyeame Kwame met Sadhguru, the founder of the Insha Foundation, during the latter’s visit to India in January 2023, he had the chance to learn more about various religions as part of his quest to become familiar with them.
The 1992-founded Insha Foundation runs an ashram and a yoga center with a focus on spiritual and educational pursuits.
