Escaping the Chains of Faith: For centuries, the United Kingdom was shackled by religion. The Church dictated morals, influenced laws, and dominated education. But over time, reason won. The UK broke free from the grip of organized religion and evolved into a secular society where evidence, human rights, and rational discourse guide public life. The contrast with Nigeria today is glaring — a country still held hostage by religious dogma, where faith often substitutes for governance, and blind belief replaces critical thinking.
It is time for Nigeria to recognize what the UK already has: religion is not the path to progress. In fact, it is often the obstacle.
Britain’s Journey Out of Religious Dominance
Britain’s past was drenched in religious absolutism. Churches controlled schools, clergy influenced parliaments, and to question religious authority was to risk your freedom or life. But through the Enlightenment, scientific discoveries, and growing dissent, religion’s authority began to crumble.
By the mid-20th century, the UK chose reason over revelation. Public policy was no longer dictated by what priests thought God wanted, but by what people needed. Laws became more humane — not because of religion, but in spite of it. Education became a tool for questioning, not indoctrination. Secularism wasn’t an attack on religion; it was liberation from it.
The Nigerian Reality: A Society in Theological Captivity
Nigeria remains entangled in the outdated mindset the UK escaped generations ago. Here, religious institutions are treated as untouchable, their leaders as demigods. Churches and mosques occupy more space than schools or libraries, and politicians kneel before prophets instead of being accountable to the people.
Worse still, religion is not just private belief — it’s public policy. It tells women what they can wear, dictates what children learn, fuels division, and legitimizes corruption. Religious empires thrive while millions starve. A nation with brilliant minds and immense potential wastes its energy praying instead of planning.
Read Also: RELIGIOUS DOUBLE-STANDARD: A CALL FOR FAIRNESS IN BELIEF AND CRITICISM
Humanism: The Way Forward
Humanism is not the absence of values; it is the triumph of real ones. It asks that we build a society not on superstition or fear of divine wrath, but on reason, compassion, and shared humanity. Where the UK embraced this worldview, Nigeria remains paralyzed by the illusion that moral order comes only from religious texts.
What Nigeria needs is not more prayer crusades or louder calls to worship. It needs:
A secular constitution, enforced without compromise.
Critical thinking at the core of education, not religious dogma.
Public policies based on data, human rights, and common sense — not clerical approval.
The courage to question everything, especially the sacred.
The Bottom Line
Religion had its time — and it failed. It ruled over societies with fear, division, and stagnation. The UK moved forward when it dared to put belief in its place. Nigeria must do the same, or remain trapped in cycles of magical thinking, poverty, and political manipulation.
Faith may be personal, but its abuse is a national crisis. Until Nigeria chooses people over prophets, logic over liturgy, and progress over prayer, it will never fulfill its potential.
For the love of humanity,
Apostle Genesis Eririoma
Apostle of Knowledge to the nations
About The Author
Leave a Reply