[size=15pt]When I left the shores of Nigeria over 1.5 decade ago, I was a devoted Christian! Over the last 10 years, I drifted from agnosticism into atheism and have no regrets about it. Here in Western Europe, no one cares whether you are (a)religious. However, in Naija (even amongst Nigerians in the Diaspora) everything is pretentiously religious. So the question is this, are Nigerians open or intolerant toward atheist/atheism?[/size]

frm my petspectve as a chrstian its not such a big deal as u thnk.
Most friends u make will fall into 2 affiliations, muslim,xtians.
Muslims usually friend themselves and so do xtians. So close friendshp is usually amng religious grounds. Otherwise, u'll just b grazg acquintances - hi/hello ,how is d family bla bla.
Light acquiantances dnt care abt religion.
Then, for being bothered i dnt thnk its an issue.
My christian friends r irreligious- my pastr friend wakes up to turn on d radio frst. We dnt dscuss bible issues . We talk women, hrsh employers,job situation, movies (esp movies) . My other friend musc, etc.
The only people who care a bit are women , cuz they tickg some requiremnt list of d man they want to chill with in their head, bt if they really wanna chill wth u,theyll try to chnge u.

If u live in an urban community,its mor like evrybody mind your business.
If u live in a more rustc communal settg, it cud b bothersome as d neighbours will
gossip abt u.
Ive never been preachd to by a muslim.
But in d past 2 years, ive never been preachd to by a christian one on one, u may xperience some preachg to if u ride a bus often,
or u you may hear an early morning preachr.


9ja isnt like malaysia,dubai,or saudi arabia . Infct most ppl ar atheist at heart,but engage in christian traditions,cuz theyre
too scared of societal censure..
All vice tht a devil can do they do.
Name it, they do it.

@OP,from my own personal experience,they will want to bring you back into the opium fields of religious insanity,but after pointing out the foolishness of religion and the folly of the bible,they will leave you alone,for there are no forces on Earth that can stand up to the Goddess of Reason!!!

Nigerians are generally religiously crazy. Even in Europe and America, they taunt and abuse you for being irreligious let alone being in Nigeria which is the den of religion itself. Personally for me, I just disregard religious discussions except when I get insulted for my unbelief in which case I give them serious warning never to engage such nonsense with me anymore.
Be ready to deal with family and friends all the time on why you don't share in their gullibility and also expect some to call you fools even though they are the foolish ones. Most people there just don't have independent sense of reasoning but allow others to think for them.

right thinking people know atheism is as deviant as homosexuality..
and though it may try to go main stream thru legal injunctions it will just never click in,
man is a God-worshipping being.
That said- , modern societies, with sound human right laws, giv individuals freedom of expression,belief, and religion.
It shouldnt be an issue wat u believe in,but man will always be man- vocal when he thinks he found a wrong he should dutifully correct.

Tpfkakambo: right thinking people know atheism is as deviant as homosexuality..
and though it may try to go main stream thru legal injunctions it will just never click in,
man is a God-worshipping being.
That said- , modern societies, with sound human right laws, giv individuals freedom of expression,belief, and religion.
It shouldnt be an issue wat u believe in,but man will always be man- vocal when he thinks he found a wrong he should dutifully correct.

Make up your mind you dolt, do atheists suffer discrimination or not?

Op, I wouldn't be vocal, except to the ones you're very sure aren't barbarians. However, I find even the more cultured people would insist (forcefully or silently) that you believe in some sort of god. But like a poster above experiences, so long as you know what to say you'll find people retreating all the time. Behind your back though, apparently that's another story, but meh.

Bottom line, some care is required. Being dismissive is usually fine for instance, though with some care. Perhaps preferably you're a well off lone wolf, no problems then.

Tpfkakambo: right thinking people know atheism is as deviant as homosexuality..

I'm quite sure you'll get likes. That should be enough evidence for the OP.

Nigerians, most I must say, are religious bigots. And nothing's more dangerous than when one believes his hateful emotions are backed by his God.

lawrencejay: [size=15pt]When I left the shores of Nigeria over 1.5 decade ago, I was a devoted Christian! Over the last 10 years, I drifted from agnosticism into atheism and have no regrets about it. Here in Western Europe, no one cares whether you are (a)religious. However, in Naija (even amongst Nigerians in the Diaspora) everything is pretentiously religious. So the question is this, are Nigerians open or intolerant toward atheist/atheism?[/size]

The obvious error is your ways is that you have judged there to be no God because those around you do not reflect His glory. Psalm 14:1 tells me "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God".

We will all die one day, and we will face judgement. That is a fact and my God does not lie. There is only one way to heaven and that is through faith in Christ.

You telling me there is no God is the same as you telling me my colleagues at work do not exist. I know him personally. When you draw near to Christ, he will draw near to you. If you knew him personally, you can never turn away. So I beg you, seek Christ. Millions around you can pretend to know Him, but if you have His mark (the holy spirit), you can be sure you will see the Kingdom of Heaven.

God bless you as you seek the truth

Smh. Christians just have to preach

Make no mistake about it, religious intolerance against atheists and religious minorities is widespread among Nigerians. You may not be beaten up or killed, but expect to be harassed and discriminated against often if you chose to be open about your beliefs.

This discrimination happens openly and is considered perfectly normal by most people here. You may find it difficult to get a job, rent a house or make friends. Your children will be indoctrinated in school, even if they attend a public school. You may be asked to lead prayers at work, especially when people notice that you're not as religious as you should be. Your neighbours will give you wierd looks if if you don't dress up and go out on Sunday mornings.

And you will be lectured and preached to constantly. Christians in particular seem to think it is their right to pester and nag people into converting. Churches have been becoming more and more fundamentalist and intolerant in the last few years. And then you have the rise of the fundie islamists like Boko Haram to worry about.

musKeeto: Smh. Christians just have to preach

2 Timothy 3:16-17 "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works".

Should we not be found carrying out good works?

Deleted.

Double post.

Hey Law,

Are you serious about this thread or are you doing the 'Old wine in new wine skin' thingy and this thread is your idea of a joke?

If indeed you are serious then man have you had your priorities mixed up...you mean you have been away for over 14 years and when you think about home your thoughts are focused on the level of discrimination you might face as an Atheist?...ah mehn...

For starters, there is hardly an individual that is not discriminated against in Nigeria...you just get used to the program...

If you are a 'good' Muslim they say you are a terrorist...if you are a 'good' Catholic they say you worship idols and are destined for hell...if you are a 'good' Cele member they say you worship the Queen of the coast.

I have seen a handful of pretty and smart ladies say they can never marry a Catholic just because he is Catholic...

Bottom line is that discrimination is only meted out to one without MONEY...that is the only thing a lot of people respect in our darling country...you can worship the devil himself amd still get respect if you have money...

That's why I was surprised at your concern pappy...you should rather be concerned about how you are going to cope with other things like your means of sustenance, the power situation etc.

Are you coming back to be a business man or you want to join the growing number of unemployed individuals? Note that your Atheism does not determine whether you get employed or not...a Muslim can as well not get employed by some Christian bigot and vise versa...

Don't get me wrong here...Nigeria is great in so many ways and the people are super cool but you would enjoy it more if you have a plan on how to make money...wealth creation should be top most in your mind and not whether you would face discrimination as an Atheist or not...


#Don't you get discriminated against over there because of your skin colour?

Just simply come back and see for yourself if Nigerians are tolerant or intolerant towards atheism/atheist...........

We have so much problems here,minding if you are atheist or not would nt even mean anything.........

Just come and carry on with your life.......

Ik, na you be this? Abi, holy spirit don massage ur emotions?

musKeeto:
Ik, na you be this? Abi, holy spirit don massage ur emotions?

lol..... ,,,,...my bro wetin you want make i for talk before??....

you think say as everybody dey struggle for job we go get time think who be atheist or who wey no be atheist....

So your reason was no one cares? and who told you atheist don't pretend? this is the stupidest reason I have seen for someone to drop his faith. no real reason what so ever. it is better for me to live like God exist than to live like he doesn't only to realize later... Seriously they care the thing is many of them are brought up that way. in fact they don't even like school compared to Africans. the vanity they enjoy makes them no to go to church. things like fornication, beer and weed/drugs. I don't discriminate and my point is the reason to become atheist is just so cheap in your case

Itsfacts: So your reason was no one cares? and who told you atheist don't pretend? this is the stupidest reason I have seen for someone to drop his faith. no real reason what so ever. it is better for me to live like God exist than to live like he doesn't only to realize later... Seriously they care the thing is many of them are brought up that way. in fact they don't even like school compared to Africans. the vanity they enjoy makes them no to go to church. things like fornication, beer and weed/drugs. I don't discriminate and my point is the reason to become atheist is just so cheap in your case

Bros, where did he say that was the reason? Please reread and try to grasp your stoopidity.

And would you look here, pascal's wager. If the bolded is your reason for being religious, well..

I hope you don't claim to love your god, as that would make you (asides from the obviously foolish) disingenuous. You don't follow your god because you believe it's 'right', the good thing to do or you love him etc. You worship him because of the rewards. In this case, probably escaping the eternal torment your loving omniscient and omnipotent god would inflict on creatures much less than insects (to him), which he himself created no less, for simply having a difference of opinion (or being ignorant, even). WORSHIP ME OR SUFFER!! And you scream back SIR GOOD SIR!!! You're actually proud of this slavishness?

As for your slave masters moving on while you still cling to their gods..

Well, let's see... We spend all our resources on church, top the charts in prayers and yahweh-style godliness and love (which looks strikingly similar to hate. Kill teh gheys!! Why? Because..). What has been the end result? A cancer ridden AIDS filled $hithole. Assuming you're currently in the diaspora, enjoying the benefits of godlessness while sneering at it, well.. You hypocrite.

In short, this is one of the more foolish posts around, and puzzlingly the only relevant part to the op was a part of the very last sentence. Was there any need to expose your folly?