RELIGION AND MORAL EDUCATION IN NIGERIA: A SEARCH FOR A MORALLY DECOLONIZED MIND

Abstract

Generally, religion is said to be a relationship between a person or a group of persons and the supernatural or a (some) transcendental element(s). It is a kind of relationship between a believer and a deity/God that is believed to exist. Today, almost every religion claim to have been inspired or revealed by God and as such, make reference to God for its various claims. Experience has shown that religion socializes people’s morality in various forms and degrees. It has also been observed that many people, especially in Nigeria, find it very difficult or are very unwilling to question certain moral teachings of their religion and as such, they tend to willingly accept and evaluate every moral action based on their own religious beliefs alone. This observation is understood in this study as religious colonization of the mind. In this regard, some pertinent questions disturb the mind of the researcher: What is the relationship between religion and moral education? To what extent can we say that the religious minds of many Nigerians have been colonized? How can the religious minds of Nigerians be morally decolonized? Therefore, employing the philosophical methods of analysis and phenomenology, this study seeks to address the above and the related questions. The study focuses on Christian and Islamic religions in Nigeria. It observes that there are some conflicting religious beliefs which give rise to conflicting moral education. In view of this observation, this study recommends, among other things, the development and proper application of Critical Ethical Intelligence (CEI) among people of religion in Nigeria. This, in the view of this study, will serve as a sure way to morally decolonize the minds of many Nigerians.