"I am a non-denominational christian and a marxist socialist:" A Gramscian analysis of the convention people's party and Kwame Nkrumah's use of religion

Kwame Nkrumah, the father of modern Ghana, led his people to freedom from British domination between 1948, upon the completion of his studies and political activism in the U.S. and Britain, and 1957, when the European imperialists granted independence to their former colony. As president of the new nation, Nkrumah initiated a process of nationbuilding in which his use of Christianity was central. This study employs Gramscian theory in examining the ideological aspects of this history, emphasizing the use of religion as both a hegemonic and counter-hegemonic political instrument. It argues that in some respects Nkrumah used Christianity in a way that confirms Gramsci; however, in others he employed the Judeo-Christian faith in a manner that informs the ideas of the Italian Marxist.