Irreligion in Nigeria is measured at less than one percent of the population. As in many parts of Africa, there is a great amount of stigma attached to being an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

. A 2010 poll by

Pew Research Center The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the w ...

showed that 51% of Nigerian Muslims agree with the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

for leaving Islam. In some parts of Nigeria, there are even anti- blasphemy laws. In 2017 the Humanist Association of Nigeria gained formal government recognition after a 17-year struggle. This was followed by recognition of the Atheist Society of Nigeria, the Northern Nigerian Humanist Association and the Nigerian Secular Society. It is considered more polite to use the term 'free thinker' when referring to an atheist. Example: Are you a Muslim, a Christian, or a 'free thinker’?

List of Non-Religious Nigerians

Bisi Alimi Bisi Alimi (born Ademola Iyandade Ojo Kazeem Alimi, 17 January 1975) is a Nigerian gay rights activist, public speaker, blog writer and HIV/LGBT advocate who gained international attention when he became the first Nigerian to come out on televi ...

Leo Igwe Leo Igwe (born 26 July 1970) is a Nigerian human rights advocate and humanist. Igwe is a former Western and Southern African representative of the International Humanist and Ethical Union, and has specialized in campaigning against and documenti ...

Seun Kuti Oluseun Anikulapo Kuti (born 11 January 1983), who is called by the name Seun Kuti, is a Nigerian musician, singer and the youngest son of the famous Afrobeat pioneer, Fela Kuti. Seun leads his father's former band Egypt 80. Biography The y ...

* Seun Osewa * Mubarak Bala *

Tai Solarin Augustus Taiwo "Tai" Solarin (20 August 1922 – 27 July 1994) was a Nigerian educator and author. He established the famous Mayflower School, Ikenne, Ogun State in 1956. In 1952, Solarin became the principal of Molusi College, Ijebu Igbo, a po ...

Wole Soyinka Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka (Yoruba: ''Akínwándé Olúwọlé Babátúndé Ṣóyíinká''; born 13 July 1934), known as Wole Soyinka (), is a Nigerian playwright, novelist, poet, and essayist in the English language. He was awarded t ...

References

Religion in Nigeria

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

{{Nigeria-stub

List of Non-Religious Nigerians

See also

References