Abstract
Nigeria’s relationship between law, morality and religion is indeed complex. There is a long trajectory of controversy between law, religion, and morality. It is understood that living in a democratic country like Nigeria, both law and morality play a pivotal role in the day-to-day affairs of the citizenry. It is well understood that morality and law are key regulators of human activities; however, they differ in various ways. The threat of sanctions enforces the law, morality is enforced through a feeling of virtue of guilt, and religion is by accepting what one believes in and worships. Accordingly, for a moral duty, one looked at the rationale; however, a legal duty solely depends on the authority other than the reason; one could say it has a commanding feature. Morality is the embodiment of normative proposition in forms of rules, values, mores, tenets which guid human behaviour. It is subjective. The law embodied rules and precepts handed down by the state to guid the relationships between individuals amongst themselves and between individual and the government. This article aimed at legally examining the relationship between law, morality a religion in Nigeria. However, the specific objectives were as follows: the writer critically analysed the concepts of laws, morality, and religion, considered the views of various philosophers and various schools of thought on the similarities and disparities between law, morality and religion, assessed the possibility of accommodation afforded by law for moral and religious values, analysed the impacts of law, morality on law making and adjudication. The research method adopted in this dissertation is the doctrinal analysis. the legal researcher gathered his materials from the library where all the cases and statutes were stationed or stored. The legal researcher also consulted primary sources such as case laws, legislation, and secondary sources such as textbooks, legal commentaries, legal journals, periodicals, encyclopaedia, and other legal sources to discover what scholars have said on the legal doctrine or rule which is the subject matter of investigation, he then applied his reasoning and idiosyncrasy assiduity towards analysing the legal propositions contained in the doctrines and formulates his conclusion and findings. This research considered access and critically analysed the relationship between law and morality and the effects thereof in both Nigeria and international jurisprudence. The research question answered the following questions: why law, morality, and religion, to what extent are morality and religion part of the law, how can the law accommodate moral values and religious values where conflict arises are there impacts inherent in the separation of law from morality and religion? A complete divorce of morality from the law is not feasible. the legislatures saddled with the responsibility of enacting laws and the draftsperson in the business of inscribing the legislator’s intention, should harmonise both law and morality on the scale of justice to promulgate good laws, laws with moral under tone will be easily obeyed. The article concluded recommendations therein as seen in the dissertation.
Wisdom Chinda Emenike, Dr. M. A. Nwanyanwu
pp. 238 – 254
