Religious Freedom in Nigeria

These past days I have been reading a Randy Alcorn novel about religious persecution in China over the years. It was an intense book to read and often made me to pause and thank God for the religious freedom in Nigeria.

That may sound odd to some, especially if you read my blogs since December, but it is true. In spite of the lack of religious toleration in Nigeria, people are, for the most part, free to worship in any manner they wish.

In fact, I would say that religious worship is one area of life that most Nigerians place at the top of their list. Granted, there are several different forms of religious practice; Christianity, Islam, sects, cults, traditional worship, etc but nonetheless, one or the other is important to most Nigerians. As a result, we have a lot of public holidays here. Most are holy days; Christian or Islamic, and the rest are considered important by the government.

When one considers Nigeria's many other challenges, religious freedom is often over looked, but after reading how Chinese Christians have been persecuted for generations, I have to give thanks for this part of Nigeria.