Exploiting Religion for Wealth Generation in Yorubaland of Nigeria: The How and Why

Abstract

Discussions in this paper are based on socio-religious cum philosophical views of such scholars as Emile Durkheim,Max Weber, Sigmund Freud and most especially Karl Marx who views religion as ‘opium of the people’. Thisexplains why some people in Yorubaland of Nigeria hide under the practice of religion to enrich themselves at theexpense of other people. Using historical and descriptive methods, the paper investigated and found out that, as aresult of high level of unemployment rate, greed and laziness, many people in the study area have taken the practiceof religion as the quickest way of amassing wealth for themselves using crooked means, and this negatively affectsthe socio-economic status of Yorubaland in particular and Nigeria as a nation. The paper recommended employmentgeneration, religious education, and checks and balances as corrective measures.