Kenyan Religious Leaders’ Views on Same-Sex Sexuality and Gender Nonconformity: Religious Freedom versus Constitutional Rights

Abstract

Religion plays an important role in framing the public discourse on sexuality, especially in countries where religion fully permeates social life. We explored the perspectives of Kenyan religious leaders on sexual and gender diversity in their country’s specific context. A total of 212 Catholic, Islamic, and Protestant leaders from urban centers and rural townships completed a self-administered questionnaire specifically developed for this study. The leaders’ perspectives were predominantly negative. Limited acceptance was conditional on sexual minorities not engaging in same-sex practices or seeing such practices as sinful. A substantial minority (37%) endorsed the use of violence for maintaining social values, especially regarding homosexuality and gender nonconformity. The majority of religious leaders agreed on the difference between civil law and religious doctrine. Human rights principles enshrined in Kenya’s Constitution were considered to be applicable to sexual and gender minorities. Decriminalization of same-sex sexuality was seen as against one’s religion. Perspectives were less negative if leaders were familiar with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons. Interventions that promote intergroup contact could be effective in changing religious leaders’ mind-sets and advancing human rights and health for sexual and gender minorities.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Brian Ocholla, Brizan Were, Ken Mananu, and Clifford Duncan for their support to this study as well as the religious leaders who participated in the study and trusted us with their information.

Funding

This study was conducted by Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) in 2013–2014. Dr. Sandfort’s contribution to this study was supported by NIMH center grant P30-MH43520 (Robert Remien, PhD) to the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Research. This publication was furthermore supported by Palladium (Washington, DC).

Additional information

Funding

This study was conducted by Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) in 2013–2014. Dr. Sandfort’s contribution to this study was supported by NIMH center grant P30-MH43520 (Robert Remien, PhD) to the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Research. This publication was furthermore supported by Palladium (Washington, DC).