Nigerian singer and songwriter, Seyi Shay, has sparked conversation online after revealing the reason she stopped attending her former place of worship. The award-winning artiste shared her thoughts in a series of posts on her Instagram story, where she addressed a controversial stance taken by a church leader.
According to the singer, she decided to leave the church after a leader insisted that the congregation should abandon modern gospel music and revert to singing only traditional hymns and scripture-based songs.
“One leader like dat at my former church said something like, ‘we need to stop singing all these new age gospel songs in praise and worship and go back to singing hymns and only songs that are direct scripture…’” she wrote.
But for Seyi Shay, that directive crossed a line. She questioned the reasoning behind celebrating hymns that, in her view, are rooted in colonial oppression and slavery. She emphasized the importance of being informed and critical of the music being sung in churches, especially those with historical ties to the suffering of African ancestors.
“Guess what, I stopped going to that church. Periodt. Because I don’t know how or why you would feel blessed and happy by singing some of the songs that slave owners wrote and forced them to sing and pass down through generations while bearing and torturing your ancestors. Makes no sense. Do your research! Ignorance is not Godly!”
Her bold statement has since sparked a debate online, with many applauding her for speaking out against what she sees as blind tradition, while others argue for the historical and spiritual significance of hymns.
Seyi Shay’s comments add to the ongoing discourse around decolonizing religious practices and challenging long-standing norms within faith communities.
