musKeeto: Great points. But i think we should preach more on tolerance and seek to have more educated and learned people on the pulpits instead of idiots who claim to have received a CALL from the Lord.... the christian gangster currently leading CAN is an example..

musKeeto: Great points. But i think we should preach more on tolerance and seek to have more educated and learned people on the pulpits instead of idiots who claim to have received a CALL from the Lord.... the christian gangster currently leading CAN is an example..

musKeeto:

I'm quite aware of that. One of the reasons I became agnostic..

Most of the people I interact with here (below 30) do not believe in God. A friend of mine made his parents aware of his atheistic views. His parents didn't try to force him to temples. But out of respect, he joins them on pilgrimages to some 'holy' land.

I believe that if we preach more on tolerance instead of trying to 'debunk' each other's beliefs, then Nigeria (Bleep the world) would be a better place.

Tolerance not only between different religions, but also within the religion itself.. tithers vs non tithers, catholics vs pentecostals, holy spirit vs trinity, sunni vs shia.. blah blah blah

musKeeto: PS: I'm having a hard time referring to you as CHEERS.. berra find beta user name.. like 'dontBanMeAgain' or something

musKeeto: PS: I'm having a hard time referring to you as CHEERS.. berra find beta user name.. like 'dontBanMeAgain' or something

Cheers01:


I wanted to use a happy word because many people here on Nairaland judge you by ur username and not content.

2good:

But I really miss logicboy. Hope logicboy01 has not been baned again?

Cheers01:

Both were banned.

2good:
lol. its really funny. You better beg Seun to unban you and try to be a bit civil in presenting your arguments to people.

logicboy01: I wonder how atheism will grow in Nigeria....

2good:

You're back!!

Sister fatie: D argument against atheism in nigeria is simple. Those religious leaders aren't gonna let their source of income go dry.

Ptolomeus: Absolutely.
Historically, Africa is not Christian or Islamic.
These religions have been imposed by the conquerors.
Undoubtedly, it is preferable to be an atheist, to follow the religion of the slavers.

logicboy01:
This question goes out to the religious people in Nigeria; What is the argument against atheism in Nigeria? .

Less that one percent of Nigerians are atheists. Is that really a good statistic?

As an atheist, I will put forward my reasons for atheism in Nigeria;


1) Relgion has failed Nigeria; When we look at christianity and islam in Nigeria, they have added to the corruption and poverty in Nigeria, rather than curb the corruption. Also religion has added to human rights abuse in Nigeria.
-Prosperity pastors ripping poor people off
-Religious southern politicians still stealing money.
-Religious northern politicians smuggling under-aged girls for marriage from North Africa.
-Pastors slapping young girls
-Boko Haram and terrorism

Not all religious people are corrupt but the important ones in Nigeria are quite corrupt. I will concede that most religious people have good intentions and not all religious people are bad. There is no guarantee that atheism will make Nigeria perfect. The evidence that we can point to is that the most peaceful countries (Peace index) and the most developed(human development index) are atheistsic or very secular.


2) Atheism is less divisive on deadly issues; Religion can unite people of the same faith but it can be deadly and divisive when it comes to people of different faiths. Nigeria is divided by religion into the north and south. Nigeria has the rare practice of having two sets of national laws with sharia differing from the common law.

Atheists from all backgrounds might not agree on millions of things but at least, they are not divided on a deadly/controversial issue like religion. Furthermore, atheist are more likely to focus on humans before God, gods or scriptures. Secular humanism?


3) Appreciation of our culture; Nigeria is not historically a christian or muslim country. Nigeria was a country of numerous tribal pagan religions. Christianity and Islam, by their nature, are not going to look favourably at keeping relics of paganism in museums and in villages alive, at least for tourism and history lessons for children. For instance, Japanese people keep their culture and history alive by maintaining Shinto shrines for people to see their heritage- Japanese people do not believe in religion (mostly atheists + irreligious) but they keep it for historical and cultural reasons.

While I personally do not believe in paganism, I think that we should keep our shrines and idols for people to see what our forefathers did in their time. This could also be a tourist attraction like the Shinto shrines in Japan





4) The commonwealth argument; The British who brought christianity to Nigeria are not as religious as Nigeria. Studies even show that about 40 percent in the UK are not religious and 20% are atheists. Why is this so? Why is it that the country that brought christianity to Nigeria is rejecting it and they (the UK) are better off than Nigeria? Does God love secular countries or are secular countries just more developed?



I would like to see counter-arguments (Arguments against atheism in Nigeria) or thoughts about the arguments I made. Cheers!

caezar:


Lol. What an absurd and inconsistent set of arguments to make!

1) Religion has failed Nigeria? Religion, has built Nigeria!!!
Being a Christian, I can't speak much for the Islamic religious institution, but here are a few things religion has done for us:

a. It has built us many schools: Loyola Jesuit College, Christ the King College, Regina Pacis to name but a few secondary schools. Loyola Jesuit College is the perfect example here. Many of its students have gone on to very good higher institutions in foreign countries (please I do not wish to get into an argument about brain drain) they will in time come back and give back to Nigeria. That's thanks to some Jesuits.

b. Economic empowerment! I'm catholic, and so I speak from that perspective. I went for a bazaar recently for a church we're opening in some far off village in Abuja. Ordinarily, nothing would take me to that remote part of town, but because I had been specifically invited by the priest, I went. At the bazaar, they auctioned off many items to raise money for the church. But most importantly, they auctioned off taxis, motorcycles, fans, sewing machines etc for the poor residents of that village so that they could use these items to generate an income for their families. That's a contribution from religion!!!

There are countless other examples that anyone with open eyes and half an imagination can come up with. Religious institutions are perhaps better than our government in actually assisting the very poor people in our society.

caezar:

2) Again, what The world has issues mate! And they do not stop at religious differences. Have you heard of the Hutus and the Tutsis? In Rwanda, you have a country divided not along religious lines BUT ethnic ones. In fact, an extensive study of our history will show you that Nigeria's first cracks occurred along ethnic lines not religious ones so it is not clear that eliminating the current religious tensions would somehow unite Nigeria.

And to preempt you, atheism does not miraculously (pun intended) solve any of Nigeria's problems. Atheism is not a cure for illiteracy, ignorance or fanaticism as is evident from some of the comments on this forum.

caezar:

3) Of all your points, this is the most laughable. You have NO appreciation for history. For if you understood the influence that religion has had on preserving culture the world over you would show more respect. For instance, in the Dark Ages of our history, it was Christian monks who preserved the texts of our natural sciences in those days and the texts of ancient cultures you would revere today. But the most laughable thing about this point is that I cannot see how religion stands in the way of the preservation of cultural artifacts.

caezar:

4) I hate to repeat this point over and over again but you are in sore need of a history lesson. Amongst other things. Secularism and Atheism are two very different things! This UK, that you so proudly point to, was founded on the back of Christianity. It's roots are intertwined with those of Christianity. And have you watched a Republican presidential debate (this is the US not the UK, but what better example than the most developed country in the world)? Religion is very much a part of US politics even as the state is clearly secular. You must then ask yourself why religion plays such an important part of politics in this country if, as you say, atheism leads to greater development.

caezar:

I think some atheists on this forum have turned this forum into a medium for religious bashing. I was jobless today and I stumbled on a Nairaland post during a google search. Since then, all I have seen on Nairaland is countless examples of shoddy, ridiculous arguments from atheists which are really just an excuse for religious bashing. I think that's sad. We should all be entitled to our own faiths, or lack thereof without fear of attack from people of conflicting faiths... or lack thereof.

Ptolomeus: After that last intervention of Logicboy, our friend caezar need the paramedics!

Abrazo amigazo!!
Vamo' arriba la celeste!

Mr_Anony: LOL,

Logicboy good to have you back, I can't say I've missed you though.

Please tell me how atheism will develop Nigeria i.e. what does Nigeria stand to gain if it becomes an Atheist country?
(mind you secular humanism is not the same as atheism. Nigeria already has a secular government)

logicboy01:

Read the first post again.

Atheism alone can not develop a country; it is a theological stance. However;

-Atheism lacks the divisive ability of religion; less division among Nigerians

-Atheism will reduce the child abuse that comes with accusing innocent children of witchcraft and torturing/killing them

-Atheism will not give the chance of pastors robbing poor people with tithe preaching

-Less religious extremism

Furthermore, evolution is not taught or properly taught in schools.

We dont even have science museums for fossils and evolution.

Also, proper history of christianity and slavery or islam and slavery is not taught in schools. History shows that these two religions supported slavery.

had to learn about Nigerian history concerning slaver in London

Nigeria is not secular. We dont have separation of church and state. When our politicians and legislators are allowed to use government money to support churches or Sharia law exists.