‘We do not support criminalisation’ — Anglican archbishop in Ghana
LGBTQ+ people are not new to Ghana, he says, and are loved by God
As homophobic members of Ghana’s parliament make plans for final passage of a harsh anti-LGBTQ bill, the head of the Anglican Church in West Africa made a point of stating publicly that the church opposes criminalization of homosexuality.
In an interview with the BBC, Archbishop Cyril Kobina Ben-Smith said, “Our point … is very clear: we do not support the criminalisation of gay persons.”
The LGBTQ+ advocacy group Rightify Ghana reported:
The Primate of West Africa and Bishop of Asante-Mampong, the Most Revd Dr Cyril Kobina Ben-Smith, has said the Anglican Church does not support the criminalisation of gay persons, while maintaining the Church’s traditional teaching on sex and gender.
Speaking in an interview with the BBC released on August 14, 2026, Archbishop Ben-Smith said LGBTQ+ people have long been part of Ghanaian society and “have never been a problem.”
“Our point in our province is very clear: we do not support the criminalisation of gay persons,” he said.
He acknowledged that criminalisation is part of Ghana’s current legal framework but stressed that the Church does not support people being criminalised because of their sexual orientation.
“We believe that God created male and female, so the Anglican Church is more traditional, if you like. So we hold on to the traditional view,” he said.
At the same time, Archbishop Ben-Smith emphasised that LGBTQ+ people are “all children of God” and that “God loves them.”
He also pointed to traditional Ghanaian cultural views on same-sex relationships, saying that these have historically been opposed to homosexuality.
However, he noted that LGBTQ+ people are not a new phenomenon in Ghana. “The whole concept of people with LGBT people, it’s not new here. They have lived in this country for a long time, and we’ve lived with them. They’ve never been a problem,” he said.
He reiterated that the Anglican Church’s position is clear: while it maintains its traditional teaching, it does not support the criminalisation of LGBTQ+ people.
The Anglican Church has been opposed to the anti-LGBTQ bill for years. As Erasing 76 Crimes reported in February 2022:
Ghana’s Anglican Church backs away from harsh anti-LGBTQ bill
The Anglican Church in Ghana is backing away from reports that it supports a bill that would impose harsh new penalties for same-sex intimacy and would make advocacy of the human rights of LGBTQ people a crime. …
[A document signed by the archbishop stated:]
“Ghanaian citizens must not use the bill as an avenue to assault persons with homosexual orientation but show love to them as the Church of Jesus Christ is called to demonstrate the love of God by protecting all vulnerable people and groups. Acts of harassment, intimidation, and hostilities against LGBTQ+ people should be condemned.”
