In a stark revelation from a new Pew Research Center survey, Ghana ranks as the highest among 15 middle-income countries in expressing discomfort with the hypothetical scenario of having a child who comes out as gay or lesbian. Over 90% of Ghanaians overall say they would feel uncomfortable in such a situation, with the figure climbing even higher among the country’s Christian (94%) and Muslim (97%) populations — more than nine in ten from both religious groups.
This data underscores deeply entrenched anti-LGBTQ attitudes in the West African nation, posing significant challenges for the LGBTQ+ community and their allies at a time when a controversial ‘Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill,’ popularly known as the anti-LGBTQ bill has been resubmitted to Parliament.
The survey, conducted between January 5 and May 22, 2024, among more than 18,000 adults across the 15 countries, explored attitudes toward homosexuality by asking respondents how they would feel if they had a son or daughter who came out as gay or lesbian. Responses were not limited to parents and aimed to gauge one dimension of societal views, though Pew notes that discomfort could stem from factors like safety concerns rather than outright rejection of homosexuality.
Overwhelming Discomfort in Ghana, Far Exceeding Global Peers
Ghana’s figures stand out dramatically in the global comparison. According to the Pew data, approximately 91% of Ghanaians reported they would be uncomfortable with a gay or lesbian child — a level of discomfort shared by about nine-in-ten or more respondents in only four other surveyed countries: Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, and Turkey. In contrast, attitudes are far more accepting in Latin American nations like Argentina, where 40% said they would feel comfortable and only 32% uncomfortable, making it the only country in the study where comfort outweighs discomfort.
The survey highlights a clear divide between regions where homosexuality is criminalised and those where same-sex marriage is legal. In Ghana, where same-sex relations remain illegal under colonial-era laws punishable by up to three years in prison, discomfort levels exceed 90%.
This aligns with patterns in other criminalising countries like Bangladesh, Indonesia, Kenya, and Nigeria, where at least 60% express unease. By comparison, in countries with legal same-sex marriage — such as Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, South Africa, and Thailand — average comfort levels, are notably higher. Even in the Philippines, where gay marriage is not legal, 42% of respondents said they would be comfortable, compared to 43% uncomfortable.
To visualise the disparity, Pew’s horizontal stacked bar chart illustrates the distribution of responses across countries. For Ghana, the bar is overwhelmingly skewed toward “uncomfortable,” with over 90% in that category, a stark visual contrast to Argentina’s more balanced split or Brazil’s near-even divide (41% comfortable, 38% uncomfortable, and 19% neither).
Religious Identity Drives Even Stronger Opposition Among Ghana’s Christians and Muslims
Religion plays a pivotal role in shaping these views, particularly in Ghana, where Christianity and Islam dominate the religious landscape. According to Ghana’s 2021 Population and Housing Census conducted by the Ghana Statistical Service, Christians make up about 71% of the population (approximately 23.9 million people), while Muslims constitute around 20% (roughly 6.7 million), together representing over 90% of the nation’s roughly 33.5 million inhabitants.
This overwhelming religious majority has long been a driving force in perpetuating anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, with prominent Christian and Muslim leaders frequently invoking scripture to denounce homosexuality as a moral abomination and a threat to family values and national identity. Clergy from major denominations, including Pentecostal and charismatic churches as well as the Ahmadiyya and Sunni Muslim communities, have actively lobbied for stricter laws and organised public campaigns against LGBTQ+ rights, framing such advocacy as a defense of Ghanaian culture against Western influences. This ongoing religious mobilisation not only reinforces the high levels of discomfort revealed in the Pew survey but also sustains a societal environment of stigma and hostility, making it increasingly difficult for LGBTQ individuals to live openly and seek support.
The survey found that more than 90% of both Ghanaian Christians and Muslims would feel uncomfortable if their child came out as gay or lesbian — figures that mirror the national average but highlight the uniformity across the country’s two largest faith groups. This is notably higher than in other sub-Saharan African countries surveyed. For instance, in Kenya, Muslims were slightly more likely than Christians to express discomfort, while in Nigeria, the pattern reversed. In South Africa, over half of both Christians and the religiously unaffiliated said they would be uncomfortable, but this is still well below Ghana’s threshold.
Pew’s dot plot on religious identity further emphasises these trends. In Ghana, the lines for Christians and Muslims converge at over 90% discomfort, showing no significant divergence between the groups. This contrasts with Southeast Asian patterns, such as in Bangladesh where Hindus were more uncomfortable than Muslims, or Latin America, where Protestants often express higher discomfort than Catholics or the unaffiliated.
Broader analysis in the report shows that in six of the 15 countries, including Ghana, people who consider religion “very important” in their lives are more likely to report discomfort, even after controlling for age and education. In Ghana, this religious influence compounds the national trend, with older adults and those with lower education levels also more prone to unease, though the survey did not break down these intersections specifically for the country.
Renewed Legislative Push Amid Disturbing Societal Attitudes
This data emerges against the backdrop of ongoing legislative battles over LGBTQ+ rights in Ghana. In February 2024, Parliament passed the “Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill,” a far-reaching anti-LGBTQ measure that would criminalize same-sex relationships, advocacy for LGBTQ rights, and even identification as part of the community, with penalties up to 10 years in prison. However, the bill lapsed in Parliament later that year after President Nana Akufo-Addo declined to assent, citing concerns over constitutionality and potential conflicts with international human rights obligations.
Undeterred, proponents resubmitted the bill to Parliament in February 2025, reigniting debates and protests from both supporters and human rights advocates.
The Pew findings, revealing such disturbingly high levels of anti-LGBTQ sentiment — particularly among the religiously devout majority — present a major challenge to Ghana’s LGBTQ community and their allies. Activists argue that the survey reflects a societal climate of stigma and fear, exacerbated by religious leaders, cultural norms, false narratives and misinformation in media, which could embolden the bill’s passage and further marginalise an already vulnerable population.
As Ghana navigates this tension between tradition, religion, and global human rights standards, the Pew survey serves as a sobering reminder of the deep-rooted barriers to acceptance. While some middle-income countries like Thailand have recently legalised same-sex marriage in early 2025, Ghana’s trajectory appears headed in the opposite direction, highlighting the uneven global progress on LGBTQ inclusion.
For more details on the survey methodology and full results, visit the Pew Research Center’s report at pewresearch.org.
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