THE NIGERIA CONSTITUTION, DEMOCRACY AND THE PRACTICE OF RELIGION IN NIGERIA
BY
AJIBOLA G. ILESANMI
DEPARTMENT OF CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS STUDIES
FEDERAL COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, ZARIA
Abstract
There have been much debates and controversies as to the compatibility of democracy and religion in the world polity. This paper briefly considers the weight of both side of the arguments with Nigeria in focus and proceeds to x-tray the nations’ placement of religion in the practice of democracy. The paper outlined principles through which religion may suitably function in a democratic society.
Introduction
The practice of democracy as a system of government in modern day has become widespread; in fact any nation that rejects the idea and principles of democracy is suspected in the comity of nations. Religion has also, as it has been, attained a colossal status ignorable by any responsible government. We shall in this paper look at the compatibility of both, given the Nigeria situation.
From the on set we must recall that democratic practice as we have it now owe its fundamental political principles to ancient Greece, where democracy originated. Thus, for any meaningful discussion and for us to get well focused in this presentation, there is a need to get back to the root of the word to find out what exactly is meant by democracy.
Democracy is derived from two different Greek words ????? (demos: the people) and ??????? (kratein: to rule). A merger of these is what has evolved what Pious (2005) referred to as “the political system in which the people of a country rule through any form of government they choose to establish”, i.e. democracy. We should note that the emphasis here is on the people. It is a system where supreme au ...