Aumen Journal of Moral Education in Africa

With the growing trend of abuses of religion, particularly in Christendom, where issues of fake miracles, gospel commercialisation and deceit are gaining ground, there has also been growing disillusionment among Christians, particularly those of the younger generation. This disillusionment can be seen in their outright criticism of many churches and men of God, whom they consider deceptive, a lack of interest in church matters and their general uninterest in religion. This leads to a situation where you hear statements like, “Church na scam”, “I believe in God, but not in the church”, “I don’t do church, but I am spiritual”. This position is strongly reminiscent of the old saying among the Igbo, Uka di n’obi. It means that the church is in the heart. It is then not surprising that we hear chants of “Let’s go back to our roots” among Igbo youths. This development is likely a push back to organised religion, particularly Christianity, which some of them have come to believe to be deceptive. It is in light of this that this paper, adopting a critical analytical approach, is focused on the exploration of the Igbo concept of Uka di n’obi and how it reflects the sentiments of Nigerian youth’s possible pushback to the religious manipulations and exploitation.

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