I live in a part of the world where freedom of religion and beliefs are greatly undermined within a culture of staunch indoctrination. Meanwhile, the concept of religion is used as a tool to discriminate against vulnerable groups and promote division amongst humanity. The dogmatism in Ghanaian religions has enslaved young minds, closed them up to reasoning, and discouraged them from asking the hard questions; As a result, no one is advocating for Justice, Diversity, and Inclusion within religious spaces. 

Religion has become the way of life of most Ghanaians, feeding into their narratives and perspectives on many issues.

Unfortunately, religious leaders in Ghana are advocating for the passage of an anti-LGBT+ bill that is looking to criminalize queer advocacies and identities. In an interview between Vice magazine and the presiding Bishop for the Methodist Church in Ghana, Most. Rev. Paul Kwabena Boafo expressed that the Ghanaian church has always been the people's conscience. Hence, they have a say and a role to play in Parliament to ensure the passage of an anti- LGBT+ bill. (

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This has created a division between queer Ghanaians and their respective religious spaces, leading to the deconstruction of beliefs and subsequent detachment from religious spaces while promoting Religion and State-backed homophobic attacks against queer persons. Being a queer Ghanaian of faith, I am constantly conflicted with the gap between my sexual identity and beliefs.

This dilemma led to my deconstructing journey. I began identifying and engaging with seemingly open-minded clergies, ministers, and theologians to ask the hard questions, and I was courageous enough to follow the answers wherever they led me. I researched different beliefs and doctrines in hopes of finding one that gave a much clearer representation of God. I was met with the immense love of God in the aftermath. I have been enlightened, and I feel mandated to help other queer Ghanaians remain steadfast in their faith and the love of God.   

I volunteered to spearhead a Religious Advocacy Campaign with LGBT+ Rights Ghana, a mostly youth-led organization in Ghana championing the fairness concerns of queer persons and working towards a safe and inclusive Ghanaian society. We have worked collectively with other stakeholders to initiate a campaign dubbed “We are all Ghana” geared towards derailing the progress of the aforementioned anti-LGBT+ bill in Parliament. Under this campaign is the Interfaith Dialogue initiative that looks at erasing Homophobia within religious spaces and creating spaces for queer believers to stand in solidarity with each other.

LGBT+ Rights Ghana has been engaging with the Protestant Church of Berlin on its Religious Advocacy campaign since August 2021. We were thrilled when we received an invitation to partake in various activities with the church in honor of the St. Christopher’s Street Day celebration. This was an experience worth detailing. We witnessed church activities in a way that enshrines the core mandate of every religion; Love, Diversity, and Acceptance. 

The first activity under the celebration was a panel discussion with Queer activists, Ministers, and Clergies; featuring Rev. Ann Kansfield and Rev. Jennifer Aull (Brooklyn Reformed Church, New York), Rev. Micah Bucey (Judson Memorial Church, New York), Rev. Dr. Vanessa Brown (Rivers of Living Water, New York), Ms. Tracy Naa Kwaaley Owoo (Programs Director, LGBT+ Rights Ghana), myself and several others to highlight on Homophobia within religious spaces and the ongoing work and efforts to create an enabling worship space for queer people of faith. The panel unveiled the similarities that exist in our various struggles and provided an opportunity for us to stand in solidarity with each other, as oppression anywhere is oppression everywhere. This session was very engaging; the audience had opportunities to ask questions and offer support and words of encouragement to arm the panelists further. The panel urged European churches to reach back out to the African churches to introduce reforms in Christianity, one that would create a safe space to inculcate Love, Acceptance, and Diversity. Homophobia in Africa was Colonization inspired by the introduction of Christianity, which has been successfully disseminated throughout Africa. This has alienated queer people from the church. Hence the Protestant Church of Berlin took it upon itself to apologize for this false indoctrination during Colonization.   

On Friday of the celebration week, the church put together a Pride Service that embodied Diversity. This was a monumental part of the celebrations, as it was my first experience of a church service commemorating QUEER PRIDE (June 28^th). The service included diverse people with diverse beliefs showcasing their style of worship through songs, spoken words, instrumentals, and art. In addition, the service portrayed God from many relatable and soothing perspectives.  

The Berlin Pride match, dubbed “Christopher Street Day Parade,” was my first ever pride walk and would continue to be the most significant moment of my life. The church had a truck amidst the 100 trucks with the inscription “Liebe Tut Der Seele Gut” translating to “Love heals the Soul.” The crowd was overwhelming; everybody was out, matching in their most authentic selves. This fueled my passion for continuing the work back home to ensure queer liberation and the opportunity to match in Ghana to protest the numerous injustices queer people face worldwide.

Our final engagement with the church was in a meeting where they sought to help and support our work back in Ghana. We circled back to the Panel discussions where the church was called on to introduce reformed Christianity to Africa (Ghana) in person to eliminate Homophobia within religious spaces. We proposed our podcast idea; that would facilitate an outreach from the Church in Berlin to Ghanaian Churches and create a safe online space for queer Ghanaians of faith. The church was on board and promised to send resources to facilitate this initiative.

Also, our engagements with the church will continue through the podcast idea and hopefully several other initiatives, including sponsoring a team member to the next Christopher Street Day Celebrations.   

I am most grateful for this life-changing experience and the support and encouragement from the Protestant Church of Berlin.