THE NIGERIAN NATION AND RELIGION.
(INTERFAITH SERIES, VOL. I).
by
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Nigerians are deeply religious, to the point that “loyalty to religion is often more important than loyalty to the state.” There are three dominant religions in Nigeria: African Traditional Religion, Islam, and Christianity. The oldest of these religions is African Traditional Religion (ATR), which is the indigenous religion of the people. Islam entered Nigeria in the 11th century, with Christianity making its first attempt in the 15th century and finally succeeding in the 19th century. In Nigeria, African Traditional Religion, which “consists of a variety of localized religious practices and beliefs”, is united under the umbrella of the Organization of Traditional Religions of Africa (OTRA). The Muslims are united under the umbrella of the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs (SCIA), and the Christians under the umbrella of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). Besides the three dominant religions mentioned above, there are other religious bodies and fraternities that manifest one or more characteristic of religion in Nigeria. Among these are Judaism, Hinduism-Hare Krishna Society, Baha’i, Satguru Maharaj Ji Movement, Rosicrucian Order, Grail Message, Reformed Ogboni Fraternity, Freemasonry, and Eckankar.
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About the Book
This book, which is the first of a-three-volume series of interfaith relationships in Nigeria, presents Nigeria as a multi-ethnic and multi-religious nation, with religion controlling almost every aspects of life. It highlights the deep-rooted religious divide in Nigeria and looks into various ways that we can move beyond the religious bitterness existing among the three dominant religions in Nigeria: African traditional religion, Islam, and Christianity, and live, work and co-exit peacefully with one another as sisters and brothers. Although this volume begins with the history of Nigeria as nation, its primary interest, and indeed, the interest of the entire series, is not with the politics, economics, and culture of the Nigerian people per se; its primary focus is the religion of the people. Hence, it is a study of African Traditional Religion, Islam, and Christianity in Nigeria. The focus is not the theological and dogmatic principles and faith life of these religions, nor the individual and various sects within these religions; rather these religions are studied from the standpoint of interfaith encounter and relationships, as a requisite for peace, unity and harmony in Nigeria.
About the Author
Hyacinth Kalu, Ph.D., is a Nigerian born Catholic Priest and a scholar with great passion for research, teaching and learning. He holds degrees in diverse academic fields of study including Religion, Education, Theology, Philosophy, Interfaith, and Culture, from Universities and Institutions around the World. He studied at University of the West, Rosemead, California; California Coast University, Santa Ana, California; Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, California; Norwich University, Northfield, Vermont; United States Institute of Peace, Washington, D.C.; all in the United States of America. He also studied at the St. Joseph Major Seminary, an affiliate of Pontifical Urban University, Rome; and Bigard Memorial Seminary, Nigeria. He specializes in Comparative Religion, and translates his research and scholarship into classroom and concrete daily-live examples. He is the author of the following books, The Word Took Flesh: Incarnating the Christian Message in Igbo Land of Nigeria in the Light of Vatican II’s Theology of Inculturation; Essays on World Religious Thoughts: A Comparative Study.