Religious leaders cannot be blamed for not doing enough to fight corruption perceived to be endemic in society despite Ghana being a religious country, pastor of The Makers House Chapel International (TMHCI) Dr. Michael Nyamekye has defended.

According to the Founder and General Overseer of TMHCI, beyond teaching at Church and in the Mosque, Imams and Pastors can do little to influence the lives of their members.

As far as corruption is concerned, “yours is to do the telling….you can only tell, you can only advise, you can only rebuke, you can only teach”, he maintained on Joy FM Super Morning Show Friday.

The various agents of change have come under question following a corruption scandal last two weeks that has exposed top judges collecting bribes.

Nearly half of the 13 public holidays in Ghana are dedicated to religious festivals to enhance the place of religion in Ghanaian society.

But corruption surveys have indicted several sectors of society – police, politicians, public sector employees not forgetting the judges.

Nonetheless, Dr. Boadi Nyamekye is cautioning finger-pointers not to “try to push everything to the church”.

Corruption can also be blamed on poor parenting, he believes. If a parent lures a child to come for a cookie only to grab the child and drag him to take a bath, the parent is teaching the child that “I can lie for what I want”.

Religious leaders can “keep telling…sharing…chastising….hammering on the ills of society”, but ultimately “the pastor, Imam or Sheikh will not follow [their members] wherever they go”.

As much as religious leaders want to see their followers obey the tenants of their faith, they cannot “put a leash around the necks of people”.