FAITH
Project Page
The FAITH study aims to assess the importance of the role that religion plays in in the fabrics of the society – in social, economic and political terms. It will evaluate the real extent of this impact and its implication for the future Yoruba nation.
Study Background
Religion is a rather emotive issue. It serves several functions, the first of which is to give meaning and purpose to life. Secondly, it should reinforce social unity and stability, while serving as an agent of social control, promoting psychological and physical well-being. Along with these, religion has the potentials to motivate people to work for positive social change.
Nigeria is a secular state with three main religions, Christianity, Islam and traditional beliefs being the most widely practised. The federal constitution guarantees everyone the freedom to practise religion of their choice.
An ORG pre-study report presented on the issue of faith in April 2021 painted a rather interesting but curious picture of the role that religion plays in the Nigerian society. While noting how deeply religious Nigerians have become over the last decades, it also highlighted the fact that as religion took deeper root, so did anti-social behaviours. The expectation was that the prevalence of faith would improve health, learning, economic well-being, self-control, self-esteem, and empathy. One would have expected that the wider and deeper spread of religious would reduce the incidence of social pathologies, such as out-of-wedlock births, crime, conflicts, delinquency, drug and alcohol addiction, health problems, anxieties, and prejudices.
Sadly, the findings were that the more the nation became religious, the more the moral fabrics of the society appeared to weaken and break down – with sharp increases in lawlessness, criminality, in particular with fraud, corruption, infidelity in relationships, and all sort of vices.
Why the discrepancies
To understand why a deeply religious society such as Nigeria would at the same time be a deeply corrupt and violent nation, one needs to understand the concepts of Intrinsic and Extrinsic religious behaviours
Researchers and social scientists have for a long while been investigating the link between religion and social behaviours. Their recent advancement has made it possible to identify two distinct categories or orientations – the intrinsic and extrinsic.
Intrinsic practice is God-focused and based on beliefs which go beyond the individual’s own existence. Research shows this form of religious practice to be beneficial.
Extrinsic religious practice is self-focused and characterised by outward observance, which is not internalised as a guide to behaviour or attitudes.
The Nigerian version of Christianity (based on the American model) of Prosperity gospel is a self-focused and self-serving one.
It is dressed as faith, but is in fact, basically an investment model. Like a farmer, the flocks are asked to sow their seeds (input) and then expect harvests (output) for themselves. Prosperity gospel as a religion, is directed toward some end other than God. In this model, God is nothing more than the processing plant, an incubator for multiplying the seeds.
The church leaders skilfully manipulate play on the psychology of, (or brainwash) their followers knowing that their expectations typically degenerate into a rationalisation for the pursuit of other ends such as wealth, status, personal security, self-justification, or sociability or others, as the worshipper’s current situation dictates.
Evidence suggests that the intrinsic practice of faith is very beneficial to the society as a whole. Countries with this model are known to have happier people with better societal value.
On the contrary, evidence suggests that the extrinsic form of religious practice is actually, significantly more harmful than having no religion at all.
Nigeria, as a case in focus, clearly confirms the hypothesis.
Study Objectives
The basic and underlying objective of the study is to understand how religion should be handled in a way that will ensure the advancement of societal good in the new nation. In social, economic, educational, spiritual, and political terms, what will be the impact of religion on the development of Yoruba nation? What role will religion be expected to play in its development?
While it might offend the sensitivity of some, and ruffle feathers, especially of those who are sucking their brainwashed faithful flocks dry, the truth is that religion in Nigeria is mostly and largely a very highly commercialised activity. This is the finding of social scientists, researchers and people with analytical minds, especially those that are not easily susceptible to being fooled.
How would the activities of the unscrupulous actors parading themselves as men-of-God in this important area of the nation be regulated? How would the already brainwashed believers be sanitised of their mental slavery to their general overseers? What are the policy implications of the sad state of the extrinsic faith and what social engineering would be needed to refocus the mental and psychological state of the believers to intrinsic faith?
Within the framework of the study, we would like to explore how faith impacts on the happiness of the people, and how (if) family stability which is essential for raising future generations of Yoruba people is impacted by religion. How does faith affect social structure – illegitimacy, crime and delinquency, hand-outs dependency, alcohol and drug abuse, suicide, depression, self-esteem? What impact has it on important social issues such as marital satisfaction, divorce and cohabitation, and on people’s physical health?
Intrinsic practice is God-focused and based on beliefs which goes beyond the individual’s own existence. Research shows this form of religious practice to be beneficial.
Support
This study touches on issues which directly affects the daily lives of so many of the people. We would appreciate any help or support you might wish to provide to the research team. Your first-hand experience, views or advice to the team would go a long way in advancing the study. Whatever information you supply will be treated in confidence.
