Ghanaians are still debating a proposed school sex education program after religious groups said it was part of a “satanic” attempt to promote LGBT+ values.

The backlash forced government and U.N. officials to defend the Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) program, which was devised by the United Nations and Ghana’s government, saying it had no explicit LGBT+ content.

The National Coalition for Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Values, said on radio and Facebook that 6 was too young to start learning about sex and criticized a module called “being a male or female”. Christian groups in the West African country have said it is part of an “active strategy” to spread LGBT+ acceptance in Africa.

“I call it comprehensive satanic engagement,” said Paul Yaw Frimpong-Manso, president of the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council, on local radio station Joy FM. Same-sex relations are banned under a colonial-era law in Ghana, and homophobia is common, although prosecutions are rare, according to Human Rights Watch.

Ghana’s education minister gave a press conference on Tuesday urging critics to check the facts and assuring them that the curriculum – which has not yet been implemented – would not compromise national values. CSE teaches sexual and reproductive health with an emphasis on “values such as respect, inclusion, non-discrimination, (and) equality,” according to the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Representatives of LGBT+ rights groups in Ghana said they were saddened by the backlash, but that most of the content of the proposed curriculum was already taught in schools. Read more via Africa News