He expressed worry that an increasing number of people thought that success in all fields of endeavour was dependent on miracles, and not hard work.He said the “narrow interpretation of religion”, could create an imbalance in society and have grave consequences on the economy.

“These days we are in danger of getting things out of balance and allowing our lives to be taken over completely by a narrow interpretation of religion. “Hard work, cleanliness, respect for the law used to be important attributes of religiosity,” he said on Monday at the opening of the International Conference on Entrepreneurship, Business and Technology (ICEBUT) organised by the Methodist University College Ghana, in Accra.

“It is worth pointing out that, even though the primary focus of religion is the redemption of souls, the Christian churches have always emphasized the practical aspect of our lives as well, or at least they used to.

“Hard work, the preacher men used to tell us, paid dividends. We were urged to give unto Caesar, what was Caesar’s and to God, what was God’s. Miracles occurred, but they were not everyday occurrences. We were urged to work hard, and that was the basis of success. “Today, an increasing number of people seem to think that success in all fields of endeavour is dependent on miracles, and not hard work. We come to work and spend the first hour and more, not on the job we are paid to do, but on prayers; we go to all night prayers and come to work the next day tired and unfit for purpose. We take out a week for every funeral, and expect our businesses to thrive because we invoke the name of the Almighty,” he said.

President Akufo-Addo pointed out that there was the need to keep a proper balance at all times, quoting a verse from the Bible that said, “A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is His delight”.“Let me refer again to the Good Book, where it says, there is a time and place for everything. We cannot and should not continue to hide behind religiosity to indulge in the habits that have characterised our attitude to work,” he said.

The President urged the churches and mosques to play their roles in fostering the attitudinal change needed to build a desired economy.