Religion

My atheism turned into agnosticism not by reading a religious text or visiting a holy temple, but by watching a YouTube video of Carl Sagan explaining the fourth dimension.

A combustible mixture since 988

There are 18.6 million people in Malawi. Many of them are subject to some sort of initiation ceremony. These ceremonies are religiously followed and form the basis of a version of cultural survival.

Nakedness in dreams was a terrible thing. It called for extra caution in your day-to-day life. It could require several days of prayer and fasting, depending on the perceived severity.

What little I know of grief tells me that it does not follow logic, and that those in its throes will oftentimes grab on to anything to make sense of their feelings. In that, I could understand why he chose to rely on religion for sense.

A Holy Day of Obligation meant we weren’t in the classroom for a couple of hours. Instead, we were in church—which can be entertaining, or at least interesting if it’s a cool church full of statues and art and stained glass and candles.

You’re supposed to eat sweet things for a sweet year on Rosh Hashanah. My Nana’s pot roast is kind of sweet. Mostly it’s the memory of it, I think.mike

Last fall, with the arrival of the rainy season we were told to expect, I began washing the dog’s feet at the apartment door after mornings in the dog park. We bought a raw aluminum bucket at the hardware store, and I used that and a rag. Anticipating our return from the park, my wife […]

There is one very short spectrum when it comes to the way people view misfortune. There are those who look at it as mere bad luck, and there those who see it as a repercussion for the wrongs they may have done in the past. And there is a third group: those who attribute it to the work of Satan. This group is where my parents belong.

I lived in fear of the idea that if I didn’t abide by both customs I’d be disowned as a young adult from one of the lives that was defined by them. This tension defined how I grappled with the Christian faith, not in terms of understanding scripture, but rather in the spiritual connection I have with God.

This post is co-published in partnership with our Brick House colleagues at Olongo Africa

The idea of feminism in Nigeria itself has been identified as a threat to men. Patriarchal structures dictate that being submissive and loyal no matter the circumstances is what a good religious woman should be. This doesn’t speak for any one religion, but rather for all: Women who identify as feminist in Nigeria are criticized and mocked using all means to dissuade us from the very idea.

I remember feeling as if my worldview expanded dramatically after leaving the bubble of private Catholic school. In public school, I met people of all backgrounds and was introduced to atheism, agnosticism, and evolution. My new friends influenced me to break the rules and challenge the norm in several areas of my life. I preferred what I found there.