IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada

A professor at the Africana Studies and Research Centre of Cornell University, who is a specialist in African cultures and civilizations took exception to the use of words "idol worship." He explained that "idol worshipping" is a Western misconception of the practice of African traditional religions (1 Mar. 2000). He clarified that in Nigeria, particularly in southern Nigeria (the Igbo), people do not "worship idols" but use "idols, which may be wooden carvings or other figures, as mediums "to focus attention to a supernatural being" or God, "just like Christians kneel before the Cross of pictures or Jesus Christ." He also stated that the practice is widespread among Christians and non-Christians who live in southern Nigeria (ibid.).