GLOBALIZATION AND RELIGION IN NIGERIA

Globalization which is the most current ideology in contemporary world is already a global village, The coming together of the entire world does not only cover the economics, political, social and cultural realm but also the religious spheres of life with its attendant benefits, challenges and prospects. Hence this paper sets out to examine the challenges of globalization on religion in Nigeria. The study relied on secondary data drawn from an array of published and unpublished materials relevant to the study. These include books, journals, magazines, conference paper, newspapers and the internet. The results of findings revealed that the culture of globalization which seeks to dominate the world through its super high-tech multi-national corporations represented in the first world has affected the religious terrain so much so that religions have become competitors in Nigeria with each attempting to dominate the other for popularity and show of power. The paper concludes that the erosion of human values, onslaught of materialism and spread of fantastic entertainment among others are the threats for every religious traditions; while religions cannot be completely insulated from the influence of globalisation along with some of its seeming negative consequences, religions can provide alternative vision that will lay the basic foundations in relating to the global village. The study recommends that Christians and Muslims in Nigeria must rise to the challenge of global concerns which include among others; war, world security, poverty, ecological problems, corruption, and human rights abuse and so on.