SACRIFICE IN YAHWISM AND AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION: THE EDO PERSPECTIVE BY: DR. T.O. EBHOMIENLEN AND

A close look at Yahwism and African concept of sacrifice and sacrificial rites will immediately reveal to an observer, some stunning similarities. These similarities re-echo the point that “the soul of religion is one”. The African generally express their worship to God through the agencies of the divinities and other spiritual intermediaries. Yahwism however claim a direct worship of God. Both people subscribe copiously to sacrificial rite as means by which it is IJSER believed that the Supreme Being can be reached. The preponderance of sacrificial rites as a core in both religion foregrounds our attempt in this paper. As can be inferred, the work adopts evaluative and analytical methods and submits that sacrifice is a core in both religion and that striking similarities exist in both conceptions. The writers discover that these similarities are not well appreciated by adherents of Christian religion which is an offshoot of Yahwism, and command large subscription in Nigeria. This paper concludes with the note that if religions in Nigeria emphasize these commonalities in religious beliefs, this will engender peace and unity which forms the bedrock for ideal national development