Okot p'Bitek: The Atheist Who Defended Religion

Speaking of an atheist who loves religion would be like speaking of a mouse who loves cats. Apart from some theological tomes that see atheism as theological, it is difficult to find atheists who think well of religion, let alone defending it. That is however what Okot p'Bitek, the Ugandan and African nationalist of the last century, did. Declaring himself one who neither beliefs in gods nor spirits, he defended the place of African indigenous religions in the life of the people and urged that they must be studied on their own terms rather than within the framework Christianity as had hitherto been the case. Perhaps p'Bitek held this stance because he wanted to defend indigenous religions which had been maligned by missionaries and colonialists. Perhaps he simply understood the value of religions in the life of people more than other atheists. Perhaps he was just naïve about the nature of religion, specifically African indigenous religions.