RELIGION

RELIGION
To most Nigerians, religion and faith are important aspects of everyday
life. It controls the laws, how you think and act, what you believe,
what you value, and more. (Of course, in any 'religion', there are
going to be hypocrites who claim to be what they are not.)

The religions in Nigeria are roughly 45% Christian, 45% Muslim, and
about 10% 'everything else', including traditional religions and beliefs.
Though the government supports the different religions, the past rulers
have usually been Muslim.

Because it is difficult to 'summarize' the beliefs and history of a
religion, and because this page is to give facts and not to preach, I try
to give just the highlights of the religions below. For more
information on the actual religion, you can find them in the books of the
religion, or by searching other sites on the web for these topics.



CHRISTIANITY
Deity God
Followers Christians
Book The Bible
Place of Worship The Church
Main Prophet' Jesus Christ.

ISLAM
Deity Allah
Followers Muslims
Book The Quran (spellings may differ)
Place of Worship The Mosque
Main Prophet Muhammed (spellings may differ).


TRADITIONAL
There are a number of different traditional religions available. They
usually are specific to the different ethnic groups, and the deities are

usually the gods and goddesses that the ethnic group believes in, and
each ethnic group had a shrine dedicated to the deities that it believed

in. The deities ranged from those who created the earth, to those who
offer divine protection and/or blessings to it's worshippers, to those
who had control over certain aspects of the world (like weather or
war), to spirits that can be somewhat controlled by human beings. Most of
these religions did not have written documentation of their beliefs and
practices, but they did rely on a priest to teach them and to
intervene on their behalf, and the priests were usually very highly trained for
this, to the extent of being raised for this task sometimes.

Some of the deities were represented by inanimate objects, while others
were represented by animate objects, some of which are now valuable
antiques in museums and holy places.

Here are some other links that may provide you with more information on
traditional religions:
RootsAndRooted: Information about Orisa (Orisha) practices and temples
LinkServe: Religion in Nigeria African Traditional Religion
West African Dahomean Vodoun.


INFLUENCE
Outside influence from the missionaries of the different religions has
influenced different parts of the culture in Nigeria. For instance,
early Christian missionaries aided with getting printed matter, including
vocabulary of the different languages, and teaching English to the
people. Also, missionaries aided with Nigerian buildings and architecture,
and with education and healthcare.

In terms of healthcare, though western medicine was brought into the
country and is practiced, there is no doubt that there are still
traditional forms of healing that have been beneficial, and now a mixture of
the two are used. This is not particular to only Nigeria. Even in the
United States, people are starting to realize the power of natural herbs
and remedies in treating ailments.