Abstract:
This paper investigates the challenges of forms of religious fanaticism in our society today. The culture of violence is a steadily growing social phenomenon in the entire world today. It is so bad that violence has metamorphosed into various shapes, forms and definitions. The expansion of the forms and methods of incubating, hatching, and generating violence across the global community has transformed it into criminality. From this stand point religious violence has assumed new forms and dimensions. Violence from the pulpit has been discovered to be so injurious to faith adherents but remained subtle and very damaging. The subtle nature of violence issuing out from the pulpit cannot be divorced from the naivety of religious worshippers. Men and women of God capitalize on this religious ambivalence and opportunity to unleash subtle violence on the psyche of unsuspecting worshippers. Over time, this privileged position of servants of God in various religions has become means of fulfilling self’s interests especially, power, intimidation, wickedness and material acquisition. The security of lives and property should be high in the policies and programmes of any government in power. It then stands to reason that religious fanaticism is criminal, distasteful and retards national progress. The method of inquiry used in this piece is religious phenomenology. It tries to capture and explain the metamorphosis of religion in relation to its definition, understanding and practice. This work discovered that religious fanaticism begins with personal idiosyncrasies and uncontrolled passion for authority and wealth. This work is of the opinion that government of the day and recognized bodies like Christian Association of Nigeria, Catholic Bishops conference of Nigeria and Pentecostal fellowship of Nigeria should check the excesses of its clergy in parishes and formation houses while delivering ministerial, national and social duties.
