RELIGIOUS ICONOGRAPHY

Abstract

Nigeria’s present political and economic backwardness is evidence of the absence of moral and ethical standards among its populace. The study looks at the ethical motif of religious symbols in the domain of religious iconography and uses the same as an ethical interface in knowledge societies. The research is qualitative and uses a participant observation approach to achieve its results. The research demonstrates how religious icons interact with society in a critical and creative-ethical way. The study is significant for promoting social ethics and morals as a prerequisite for a developed Nigeria and society in general. It concludes that religious symbols contribute to the development of a strong ethos that conveys society’s moral principles since they are essential to the sustainability of knowledge societies; hence, they should be given special values such that they could lead to national integration that eliminates the vices and tendencies that limit any knowledge society.