Human societies are quickly drifting into serious moral decadence as various ills are plaguing the world. This situation makes the teaching of religious ethics, the academic discipline that studies the morality of human act based on the tenets of various religions, a necessity. In some parts of the world, the teaching of religious ethics is booming. Unfortunately, the opposite is the case in Nigeria. Teachers of religious ethics are few in the country. This chapter investigates the reason behind this unpopularity of religious ethics as an academic discipline in Nigerian universities. The chapter exposes in great measure challenges facing teachers of religious ethics in Nigerian universities. To do this, the author employs the phenomenological approach of religious studies. The author also draws insights from religious ethics and cultural hermeneutics. The author recommends that the teaching of religious ethics in Nigerian universities should be encouraged through provision of scholarships and research grants.

Human societies are quickly drifting into serious moral decadence as various ills are plaguing the world. This situation makes the teaching of religious ethics, the academic discipline that studies the morality of human act based on the tenets of various religions, a necessity. In some parts of the world, the teaching of religious ethics is booming. Unfortunately, the opposite is the case in Nigeria. Teachers of religious ethics are few in the country. This chapter investigates the reason behind this unpopularity of religious ethics as an academic discipline in Nigerian universities. The chapter exposes in great measure challenges facing teachers of religious ethics in Nigerian universities. To do this, the author employs the phenomenological approach of religious studies. The author also draws insights from religious ethics and cultural hermeneutics. The author recommends that the teaching of religious ethics in Nigerian universities should be encouraged through provision of scholarships and research grants.

The cut and thrust of this paper is the re-examination of an age long belief and practice among the Ika people of Delta State and the Obolo of Rivers State which is aimed at discouraging the practice of witchcraft and sorcery. The study critically evaluates the phenomenon which includes necromancy, divination and poison ordeal and concludes that caution is needed as the act which involves human life is not without imperfection. The discourse is comparative as it examines the methods of ascertaining death among the Ika and Obolo. It employs moral, social and philosophical springboards for the analysis. Some of the findings includes: belief in witchcraft is very strong among the people and age long practices to eradicate same will endure, if nothing is done to discourage it. A major constraint is that matters relating to witchcraft and sorcery are metaphysical and so difficult to verify.Keywords: Death, Ascertain, Cosmology, Necromancy, Divination and Ordeal by poison