Socialization and Religious Indoctrination in Nigeria: Implications for Peaceful Co-existence

Abstract

Every religion serves as an agency of socialization and indoctrination. As long as religion teaches its adherents ethics and holds strictly to its beliefs and doctrinal practices, it is socializing and indoctrinating its adherents. But as soon as its doctrinal teachings shake the basis of peaceful co-existence, harmony and religious tolerance in the society, indoctrination becomes dangerous and offensive. This study therefore sets to look at how religion (mostly Christianity and Islam) could serve as good agent of socialization and indoctrination without hampering peaceful co-existence in Nigerian society. The study observes that religion forms the bedrock of norms and values of any society in which a child is socialized. Adding credence to the above, it is then that the state would not undermine the importance of religion and religion would endeavour to raise the social and moral standards of the state within her process of religious indoctrination and socialization. Hence, the study calls for the revival of a better socialization and religious process if the hope of an effective national peace is to be achieved in Nigeria.