Olusegun Olawoyin

This article is an interpretation of John Hick’s philosophy of religious pluralism in the context of traditional Yoruba religion. The ultimate goal of the article is pragmatic, viz. to provide a theoretical basis for peaceful coexistence among different religions in Nigeria. The methods adopted to achieve this objective are hermeneutical/analytical and comparative. Hick’s theory is interpreted and analysed before it is applied to traditional Yoruba theology. His concept of the Transcendent or Ultimate Reality is equated with the Yoruba concept of the Supreme Being or Olodumare. Both Hickean Ultimate Reality and Olodumare are conceived as transcategorial. However, Yoruba divinities are equated with Hick’s personae and impersonae of the Real: like the personae and impersonae of Hickean Ultimate Reality, the divinities are manifestations of Olodumare. This interpretative method can be used to account for differences in the conceptions of the Supreme Being among competing religions in Nigeria, especially Islam and Christianity in their conceptions of God.

John Hick is well-known among philosophers and theologians for his philosophy of religious pluralism. Before proposing his theory of religious pluralism, however, he has made major contributions in religious epistemology and other religio-philosophical issues. His later philosophy of religious pluralism is based on his earlier proposal on religious epistemology. Hick affirmed that although religious statements are cognitive, the world is religiously ambiguous. This paper argues that Nigeria as a country riddled with religious conflicts can benefit from religious epistemology of John Hick. Using conceptual analytic method of philosophy to present Hick’s religious epistemology and applicatory technique to propose how the epistemology can be appropriated in Nigeria, the paper argues that such religious epistemology will result in tolerance and peace.

Nigeria is one of the most religious countries in the world. The major religions are Islam, Christianity, and African traditional religion. Nigeria is also notorious for ethno-religious conflicts, especially in the North eastern part of the country. Many factors have been identified as causes of the conflicts, including religious intolerance, desertification, poverty, cultural differences, foreign influences, and political differences. This paper argues that, although the conflicts were usually triggered by flimsy incidents, the protagonists’ exclusivistic attitude as regards value is the root cause of the conflicts. Each of the protagonists in the conflict, the ethnic and religious groups, regards its own worldview as the only true one. Using conceptual analytical method to analyse the Nigerian situation, this paper uses process philosophical concept of truth to propose that differences in value may not necessarily lead to conflicts. In fact, it may lead to deeper religion, beauty, and depth of personality. “Deep” or “Complementary” pluralism is thus recommended for tolerance and peace in Nigeria.

John Hick’s pluralistic hypothesis is an attempt to reconcile the divergent conceptions of the ultimate Real in the post-axial religions. However, one phenomenon the religions have in common is the transformation of the adherents from ‘self-centeredness’ to ‘Reality-centeredness’. He used the Christian term, ‘soteriology’ to describe this common function. In his own words, “Religious traditions and their various components … have greater or less value, according as they promote or hinder the salvific transformation.” The evidence of salvific transformation is ethical, “…the ideal of generous goodwill, love and compassion.” In this article, the soteriological and ethical criteria are applied to major faiths in Nigeria.In doing this, it was observed that of the three major religions in Nigeria—African primal religion, Islam and Christianity—only the latter two are among the ‘post-axial’ religions considered by Hick. These are soteriologically concerned. The primal religion was classified as ‘pre-axial’, which concerns itself with “…keeping the life of the community in an even keel and the fabric of the society intact”. But the Yoruba concept of Ìwà (being/existence, character) is used to illustrate the ethical criterion.The chapter argues that applying Hick’s soteriological and ethical criteria to the religions in Nigeria has two practical advantages for Nigeria. First, it will serve as an antidote to the common observation that although Nigerians are very religious, the corollary ethical effects of the religiosity are lacking. Second, the attention will be focused on developing and applying the soteriological and ethical criteria to the Nigerian situation rather than finding relevance in solutions offered by power-seekers for the ethno-religious crisis.