09/08/2016
THE DEARTH OF RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE, KNOWLEDGE OF RELIGION, AND INTER-RELIGIOUS CONFLICTS IN NIGERIA
By
Prof J. K. Ayantayo
Professor of Religious Ethics, Sociology of Religion and Interreligious Peace and Conflict Studies
Department of Religious Studies,
University of Ibadan, Ibadan,
[email protected],
[email protected]
Introduction:
The search for peace as a solution to religious conflict is an unending exercise particularly in a country like Nigeria where religion is volatile. But, if we must look for a possible enduring solution to the problem of interreligious conflict, it is apposite to look at the damaging effects of the dearth of religious knowledge, knowledge of religion, and their implications for inter-religious conflicts in Nigeria. This paper, therefore, aims at showcasing the nature, degree and manifestation of the decline of religious knowledge and knowledge of religion in public milieu, as a factor in the search for sustainable solution to religious security in Nigeria. It also examines the implications of the decline for the security of religion as well as the security of other religious and non-religious practitioners in a religiously pluralistic Nigerian society.
The Concept of Religion Knowledge
Religious Knowledge is contextually used at this juncture as a course of study in primary and secondary schools in Nigeria. It is a subject of study like Civic and Mathematics. It deals essentially with intimating the students offering the subject/course with information, ideas and ideals so as to create awareness through the profound study of religion as an academic discipline and a belief system about God; it also covers ethos regarding God and man; man and man; and, man and nature relationships. At the primary and secondary levels, Religious Knowledge otherwise known as Religious Studies, in some quarters, is divided into two categories with reference to two major faiths in Nigeria that is, Christianity and Islam. The two categories are Christian Religious Studies (CRS) and Islamic Religious Studies (IRS). The two subjects are entrenched in the Nigerian Educational Curriculum . Notable goals of CRS and IRS as contained in the Curriculum are: to help the youths to understand the basic teachings of Christ and to apply these to their daily lives and work; and to attain a balanced development of the individual and the community by giving due weight to the physical, social, intellectual, moral, and spiritual needs of man.
Beyond the primary and secondary levels, Religious Studies also constitute a field of study in many public and private Universities in Nigeria. The major concern of most of the departments of Religious Studies, using the University of Ibadan, Ibadan as a template (being the first in Nigeria), is to produce graduates worthy in learning and character, and that are capable of advancing peace and harmony in a religiously pluralistic Nigerian society; and to be a centre of excellence for character moulding and result-oriented learning in a peaceful environment. This leads to its various fields such as African Traditional Religion, Christian Theology, Church History, Comparative Study of Religions, History of Religion, Islamic Studies, New Testament, Old Testament, Philosophy of Religion, Religious Ethics, and Sociology of Religion.
The State of Religious Knowledge in Nigerian Schools/Universities
In spite of this laudable intention of entrenching Religious Studies in Nigeria, and given the potentiality of religion in promoting moral among Nigerian citizenry as an example, the enrolment for Religious Knowledge or Studies in Nigerian primary and secondary schools, and universities is not encouraging. Many reasons could account for this development. In our own estimation, the major cause, which consequently induces others, is the demotion of Religious Studies in Nigerian schools unlike other sciences and social sciences subject, which constantly enjoy the favour of Nigerian government under the guise of promoting science and technology. This fact largely constituted a key bane in the global educational space and advancement. The belief of the Nigerian government is that the study of religion does not provide immediate material needs of the society unlike science and technology, which the government deems to be productive. A good example of a case in which the study of Religious Studies was water down was an incident in 2003 in Osun State, when the then governor of Osun State, Chief Bisi Akande phased out Religious Studies (CRS and IRS inclusive) and other humanity subjects such as Fine Arts, Literature in English, History, Yoruba Language, Igbo Language and Hausa Language, on the note that the subjects were outdated unlike science and technology courses. During this period, many teachers were laid off; a few of them later died because of joblessness which ultimately led to poverty.
The Notion of Knowledge of Religion
The term, âknowledge of religionâ, in the context of our discussion, is defined as awareness of what religion is or is not by religious practitioners and non-religious practitioners. At this juncture, our understanding of religion is in reference to the three major religions practiced in Nigeria, which are African traditional religion, Christianity and Islam. Therefore, we can safely argue that the knowledge of religion has to do with the quantity and quality of information, understanding, facts or data, an individual knows or have about a religion as well as its doctrines and practices.
Knowledge of Religion in Nigerian Religious space
Based on some practical experiences, we discover that many religious practitioners in Nigeria have poor knowledge of religions, which they and their neighbours practise. In a study carried out some years ago, we were able to establish that religious ignorance among other interrelated factors is the bane of religious conflicts in Nigeria . Religious ignorance in the context of our discussion refers to lack of knowledge or information about particular doctrinal religious beliefs and practices. It could also be lack of sufficient knowledge or information about one religious practice or that of another person belonging to a religious faith different from that of oneâs own. The meeting point between the two is the lack of sufficient knowledge about a particular religion in terms of its cardinal beliefs and practices at one point or the other. For example, an average Nigerian Christian/Muslim does not have sufficient knowledge of what Christianity or Islam stands for.
This happens because majority of religious practitioners rely on their pastors, Imams or Sunday school teachers for the little they know about their religion, as most of them hardly create time to read the Bible or the Qurâan on their own. Besides, a few of them are fresh converts who are probably yet to have firm root in their new religion. Even the old converts, especially the first generation who got converted from African traditional religion to either Islam or Christianity, also still know little about the religion because some of them were blackmailed to become either Christians or Muslims, not that they willingly changed their religions . This is evident in some of the words used by Christian and Islamic missionaries when they had contact with the traditional religious practitioners. For example, the traditional religious practitioners were called names such as ajebo â ritual eater, elebo â ritual maker. This got to the climax when the Western anthropologists who studied African Traditional Religion used derogatory words such as paganism, fetishism, juju, and idolatry (to mention but a few) to describe them .
Ironically, it is interesting to note that most of the first generation Christian converts, especially in Abeokuta, the town through which Christianity got to Yoruba land, are practising Christianity today because Christianity got to their land before Islam. While most of the Muslims, especially those in places like Iwo in Osun State, are Muslims today because Islam got to their land before Christianity. In other words, most Christians today, especially the first generation ones, could have been Muslims if Islam had been the first of the foreign religions to get to their land, while the early adherents of Islam could have been Christians today, if Christianity had got to their land before Islam . Alluding to this experience in religious circles, Stephen Prothero gives a pertinent illustration of his personal experience resulting from his interaction with his students, which runs as follows:
In a religious quiz I give my Boston University students every year, I am told that Paul bound Isaac and Abraham was blinded on the road to Damascus. Catholic students are unable to name even one of the seven sacraments of their faith. Protestant students think âGod helps those who help themselvesâ is a Bible quote story. And Hindu students cannot tell me even one Hindu scripture .
The Implications of the Dearth of Religious Knowledge and Knowledge of Religion for Interreligious Conflicts
The effect of the governmentâs downgrading of Religious Studies in Nigerian schools could not be sufficiently captured because it has chain-like effects. The first effect on the society is the emergence of secular humanism, which makes many non-neutral statements that are quite antagonistic to the doctrines of Christianity and Islam such as: that individual human are the ultimate source of morals, values, purposes, and meanings; and that human associations and institutions should act out of concern for collective humanity--for the human species--and not solely to further the ends of a specific nation, state, religion, or ideology. The end result of this thinking is the lack of fear for human blood. Human blood is freely shed on the ground of defending one religion or the other. This is so because the concept of sacredness of life, which is a religious dogma, has been thrown away. This is bad because religion is the bedrock of social morality, which premised on the Karl Barthâs thesis stating that man unaided cannot discover moral truth .
The magnitude of ignorance among religious practitioners on issues related to their religions has a lot of implications for religious relations and religious interaction, which culminated in the negative attitudes towards the sustainability of religious security. As Stephen Prothero equally affirms, âthis religious ignorance absents millions of Americans from religiously inflected political debates about abortion, capital punishment, and the environment . Religious ignorance also manifest in misquoting of the scriptures in terms of quoting scriptures and interpreting them out of context, intent and content; quoting the scriptures contemptuously; and stereotype interpretation of the scriptures among others. This development at times, in an apt sense, is a calculated attempt to denigrate, malign, belittle and undermine the religions of other people, hence, the degree of bickering, wrangling, internal strife and backbiting often accompanying the act. The ignorance expressed in the foregoing listed forms, do generate interreligious conflict, especially when they pertain to doctrinal issues such as God and godhead, salvation, eschatology, angelology, worship, prayer and fellowship; the use of religious language such as the Arabic, Greek and Hebrew; and also the practice of speaking in tongues among Christians among others.
Recipes to the Problem
The first solution that we need now is the urgent promotion of religious education in public and private spaces in Nigeria. By religious education, we mean holistic education of the mind, intelligence, intellect, position and attitude of religious practitioners regarding their understanding and, expected attitude and disposition to religions different from the one they practise. We suggest that Departments of Religious Studies in Nigerian universities should take the lead in this effort geared towards the promotion of religious understanding. This should be done theoretically and practically.
Theoretically, each department should float religious education oriented courses that would outline the following issues: basic tenets of the world religions, comparative religion, religious rights and freedom, religious secularism, respect and mutual respect in religions. Practically, every lecturer of Religious Studies is not expected to indoctrinate the students he/she teaches. This is in tandem with Bruce Lincolnâs position stating that reverence is a religious and not a scholarly virtue . Because of the sensitivity of this matter, it is our suggestion that a scholar of Religious Studies living in pluralistic religious world should equip him/herself with at least four factual statements, and somewhat teaching principles outlined by Michael Pye as follows:
(a) The study of religions (Religionswissenschaft - that is, scientific study of religion) is not concerned with the search for religious truth, but rather with the description and scientific investigation of religious phenomenon from a âmeta-levelâ that is, from the standpoint of independent reflection. This does not imply a claim to be superior to religious truth in any way.
(b) It cannot be the task of the study of religions, therefore, to substantiate or disprove truths, which may be contained in religious doctrine.
(c) Oneâs own personal religious experience is not a prerequisite for working in the study of religions and neither is there any obligation to maintain an anti- religious attitude (as in the traditions critical of religion deriving from Feuerbach, Durkheim and others).
(d) Since the study of religions does not serve the interests of any religion, it should be distinguished, for example from missiology and apologetics or a theology of religion .
At this juncture, we can then argue that the teaching of Religious Studies should not be persuasive, sympathetic, apologetic or dogmatic; rather it should be critical, analytical, objective, interpretative and explanatory (to borrow the words of J. S. Jensen and L .H Martin in their description of principles underlying scientific study of religion) .
Concluding remarks
We have been able to establish in this paper that there is a connection between religious knowledge, knowledge of religion and interreligious conflicts. This further reveals the fact that poor or lack of knowledge about religion oftentimes has its offshoot in the relegation of the religious Studiesâ teaching in Nigerian public schools, which on a larger part represents one of the major reasons for both intra and interreligious conflicts in Nigeria.
