Akinola Criticizes America for Promoting Godless Society
Conservative Anglican Archbishop Peter Akinola of the Church of Nigeria criticized civil liberty organizations, especially those in the United States, for promoting a godless society through the removal of religious references in public.
Akinola, better known for his conservative leadership in the Anglican schism, noted that historic Christian symbols and phrases have been increasingly removed in American society, such as replacing "Merry Christmas" with "Seasons Greetings" on printed materials.
"[T]he founding fathers of the United States of America inserted 'In God we trust' in their coins but modern anti-Christ agents, in the name of civil liberties, are hell bent to erase God not only from the America currency, but also from the entire public domain including schools," he said, according to the Daily Trust newspaper in the capital city Abuja, Nigeria.
He described such actions as the "agents of anti-Christ determined to destroy Christianity."
Addressing Nigerian Christian, the Anglican archbishop urged them not to "import" the "unwholesome practices" of the western world that has "chosen to remove the divine from their public domain."
The western African country of Nigeria is the most populous country in the continent. The population is nearly evenly split between Muslims and Christians, with Muslims mainly in the north and Christians living in the south.
Sectarian tension between Muslims and Christians has been a long time problem in Nigeria.
