Lagos: the melting pot of African traditional religion and other foreign religions in Nigeria

Abstract

African Traditional Religion (ATR) is the religion that was practised throughout Africa before the arrival of Western missionaries. The core premise of ATR is the maintenance of African culture and its main feature is loyalty to the ancestors and accompanying rituals that express this loyalty. With the introduction of two foreign religions into the mega city of Lagos, the interest has shifted from traditional religion to the two other religions. This study adopted the sociological theory of Emile Durkheim, which argues that Stability and cohesion shared in religion binds people closely together and contribute to the growth of the society. Various authors have written on the question of monotheism versus polytheism and the nature and position of revelation in religion and in order to understand the place of African Religion in light of contemporary religions, the exegesis approach is applied in the discussion of Africans belief in the worship of one Supreme Being and veneration of ancestors as intermediaries to the one Supreme Being. The paper explores the question of religious tolerance within the megacity of Lagos. Finally, the study reveals how Lagosian adherents of the traditional religion interface with members of the other religions. Finally the paper concluded that Lagosian Christians or Muslims continue their veneration and practice of indigenous religion whilst upholding their foreign religious identity.

Keywords: Lagos, African religion, foreign religions, the melting pot of Nigerian Society