Christians are supposed to exhibit strong faith in their own form of religion. One of the things that elicit passion is religion. If you are not doing what literally you are meant to do, then the person will be described as existing, but not living. You have to be passionate in the things you do. 
 Having passion in the things we do as Christians is very crucial. People can be doing most mundane things in the world but with so much passion and because perhaps that’s where they find themselves comfortable.
As a country which has been described severally as being religious, it is worrisome how a particular religion or some religions don’t seem to be getting tolerance as expected. 
African traditional religion practitioners seem to be suffering setback and apparent marginalisation in Nigeria. How do we create a society that accepts old traditional religion?
In the past, some persons served Amadioha, Sango, Ogun, Osu and all other gods that they believed in. In this 21st century, a lot of emphasis is being placed on Christianity or Islam. There is a level of adherence to these forms of religion which leads to stigmatisation which people are suffering these days in Nigeria.
Many people see Christian religion as the ultimate in terms of faith. They believe that Jesus Christ, as the head of Christendom, reigns supreme to the extent that whatever befalls them as soon as the name is mentioned, that will be taken care of.
Of course, that is the real thing because no matter any other religion that exists but, all bow before the Almighty creator who is above all gods.
There are those who believe firmly in the African traditional religion. They feel that people can decide the kind of religion that soothes them. One thing about their belief is that when it comes to African religion, their actions are taken “sharp sharp” as against the Christian religion where actions are not taken immediately.
In the case of Christian religion, there is always room for mercy and forgiveness and a longer time for forgiveness. Here, issues are handled in Godly way. Because of the nature of Africa religion, people are scared whenever it is mentioned that cases should be handled there. People are always apprehensive of “juju” and one begins to wonder why.
Recently, there was a theft case at a work place. When the issue was looked into, all the persons involved were interviewed but none agreed to know what happened. Although prayers were said for God to touch the heart of anyone who might have been involved in it. But as soon as a visit to the idol shrine was mentioned, every person in that office became apprehensive.
If we feel that Christian religion whose leader is Jesus Christ is the highest, why should people be afraid about anything that has to do with traditional belief? Does it mean that our faith is not strong enough as Christians?
Recently, some students in one of the universities in Nigeria allegedly faced discrimination because they were neither Christians nor Muslims. The students, according to reports, had their own religion. Each time there were prayers by Christians or Muslims, they ignored both and students viewed them with different meanings; in fact, they were seen as devils by their peers.
Since I was young, I have seen people who have neither gone to church nor mosque to pray but still live on with good life. They also engaged in activities that both Muslims and Christians are and succeed in life’s endeavours.
We should not marginalise those whose forms of religion are held personal. How to create a society that accepts old tradition of worship or any form of religion as enshrined in the constitution is a problem.  
Although not all forms of tradition should be followed, especially with regard to the issue of disallowing women from inheriting property. Everybody should be allowed to practise any religion of their choice. Some persons seem not to be too comfortable with traditional religion practitioners. They see anybody attached with that religion as fetish.  
People should be allowed to practise any form of religion they desire. In the workplace, anybody can be employed no matter the religion.  God is the tradition because He instituted tradition first. But if some persons have abandoned God who instituted that and decided to practise their own religion, that’s their own business.
If a person is engaged in a job offer, religion should not be the criterion or a challenge, after all, it is written, “Render therefore into Caesar the things which are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s”. The most important thing is respecting the ethics of the job and not religion. Incompatibility in religion should not be entertained at workplace.
When we walk on the streets and come across raffia palms tied with different pieces and colours of clothes and soft drinks, including packs of powder, we consciously avoid such situations because we feel they have to do with idol worshipping. Also on the streets and roads, we see sign posts showing churches and their activities, yet we don’t avoid them.
Traditional worship existed before the advent of Christianity by the westerners. They were neither bad nor archaic. There are serious-minded people who do not really practise religion in dealing with other persons, although we are not to judge. As humans, a lot of people deceive themselves.  
When we see people who are Christians or Muslims, we embrace them but get frightened when we come across “juju” worshippers. When people take oath, using the Bible or the Quran, they tend to go against it but when the same people take oath in idol shrines, they tend to respect the rules and regulations guiding such oaths. They are apprehensive when it comes to that.
There are so many forms of traditional religions that do not involve idol worshipping but not standardised.  Christianity and Islam are well established that leaders undergo training and re-training to become pastors or imams.  
Priests of such traditional homes may not be bold to carry out their functions publicly because of fear of intimidation and stigmatisation. Some see them as the highest place to seek redress when issues affecting them come up, as far as the truth will manifest.
One challenge with African traditional religion is non-recognition by relevant authorities. In Nigeria, there are public holidays for Christians and Muslims but none for adherents of traditional religion.  
It may interest you to note that someone has lost a job due to the fact that he refused to state whether he was a Christian or a Muslim in his job application form. He narrated that he later found out that the manager was a Christian and vowed never to have anything to do with Christians.

By: Eunice Choko-Kayode