Religious leaders are ultra-powerful stakeholders in Sierra Leone society

Public health leaders will do well to keep them close

Did you know that almost one in ten women in Sierra Leone who decide not to use a modern contraceptive, that could safeguard them from unwanted pregnancies, do so for religious reasons? Women and men in Sierra Leone are highly influenced by their religious beliefs and religious leaders play a big part in shaping these beliefs.

A 2021 study commissioned by the Christian Health Association of Sierra Leone (CHASL) revealed that Christian religious leaders are against the use of modern contraceptives while Muslim religious leaders while not totally in favour are more open to its use. A pastor from Port Loko quoted from the bible during a focus group discussion conducted during the study: “Psalm 127, the child is a heritage from God, and we believe in procreation so anything that destroys it like the contraceptive is not of God and it is against the Christian beliefs.” – Christian Religious Leader_ Port Loko District.

On the other hand, an Imam from Falaba District stated: “To me, I think Islam accepts family planning because if you travel to advanced Islamic Countries, you will discover that they are well planned. To me, that is the reason why Islam accepts family planning.”- Muslim Leader_Falaba District

Religious leaders cited a range of reasons why they are against the use of modern contraceptive methods such as pills, injections, implants (locally known as Captain Band) or long-lasting intra uterine devices (coil). First, they feel that they are artificial methods interfering with the natural processes that God has provided and that modern contraceptives can have side effects and some of the providers are not well trained to provide the service.

However, despite their apprehensions all religious leaders agree that birth spacing is very important for the health of the woman and the overall well-being of the family unit.They also recognise that in the current economy having very large families will be difficult to manage. One Christian religious leader stated in a focus group that:

“The commandment of God in the Old Testament is we should be fruitful and multiply. By looking at the perspective of fruitfulness and multiply, at that time, there were not enough people on planet earth. Now there are lots of people on planet earth, and some people are complaining that we are overpopulated. Instead of having so many children, one or two will be enough. By looking at the current socio-economy, a bag of rice costs Le370, 000. If you give birth to 30 children, how many days will it take to finish a bag of rice?” – Christian Religious Leader_Koinadugu District​

In fact, religious leaders even think that having children that you cannot care for is a sin.

“According to Pentecostal, which is my denomination, it preaches against bearing children and leaving them unattended… [that] is a sin. Also, failing to provide the fulfilling demands of your children is not [just] sinful but criminal.” – Christian Leader_Bonthe District​.

So, while religious leaders are pro-birth spacing and limiting family size, they are against the only effective method available in the modern world to achieve this.

Furthermore, Muslim religious leaders are against the teaching of reproductive health education in schools because they believe it will lead the children to having sex. Many of the religious leaders interviewed in the study (like many people in Sierra Leone), think that reproductive health education is just about teaching children about sexual intercourse but this is far from true. Reproductive health education is teaching children about their bodies – boys about wet dreams and girls about periods so they are not scared out of their wits when it happens. It is always age-appropriate, meaning it will not be talking to children about intercourse until they about 15 years old when children start to experience sexual urges, which is the most natural thing in the world. Providing reproductive health education protects children from abuse because they become aware of their private parts and where it is appropriate for other people to touch them. It provides them with a range of life skills and builds their self-esteem.

However, one ray of light among religious leaders are those who in addition to being pastors or imams also have other career roles such as teacher’s ad nurses.  These dual-career individuals, because of their education or health professional training, understand the need for reproductive health education and the important role it plays in the reduction of teenage pregnancies. Furthermore, they are pro-modern contraceptives because of its effectiveness, and they know that it is largely safe. These religious leaders could be the champions that help Sierra Leone achieve a demographic dividend.

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Opinion piece informed by a study conducted by Institute for Development (IfD), a mixed methods research firm in Sierra Leone.