Atheism - A Mental Illness?

Image courtesy of BBC

The BBC have reported upon a Nigerian man who has been sent to a mental institution after he declared that he did not believe in God.

The humanist charity, The International Humanist and Ethical Union, claims he has been "forcibly medicated by his Muslim relatives, despite being given a clean bill of health by a doctor."

The IHEU have said that Mr Bala told Muslim relatives he did not believe in God, they asked a doctor if he was mentally ill. He was given a clear bill of health, yet his family then took him to a second doctor who declared that his atheism was a side-effect of suffering a personality change.

The chemical engineering graduate, while forcibly committed to a mental institution without access to a lawyer, was able to contact activists using a smuggled phone.

Read more from BBC: <here>

Read more from IHEU: <here>

Who do you think is to blame here? Why do you think his family and local community have acted in this way? Do you think the Nigerian government should intervene? How does this portray religious people?