The Yoruba are traditionally a very religious people, and are today pluralistic in their religious convictions. The Yoruba are one of the more religiously diversified ethnic groups in Africa. Many Yorubas can be found in different types of Christian denominations. Many others are Muslims, as well as practitioners of the traditional Yoruba religion.
Yoruba religious practices such as the Eyo and Osun-Osogbo festivals are witnessing a resurgence in popularity in contemporary Yorubaland. They are largely seen by the adherents of the modern faiths, especially the Christians and Muslims, as cultural rather than religious events. They participate in them as a means to celebrate their people's history, and boost tourist industries in their local economies.
CHRISTIANITY
The Yorubas were one of the first groups in West Africa to be introduced to Christianity on a large scale. Christianity (along with western civilization) came into Yorubaland in the mid-19th century through the Europeans, whose original mission was commerce. The first European visitors were the Portuguese, they visited the Bini kingdom in the late 16th century, as time progressed other Europeans- such as the French, the British, and the Germans followed suit. British and French were most successful in their quest for colonies (These Europeans actually split Yorubaland, with the larger part being in British Nigeria, and the minor parts in French Dahomey, now Benin, and German Togoland).
Home governments encouraged religious organizations to come, and to Christianize the so-called "animist" Africans. Roman Catholics (known to the Yorubas as Ijo Aguda, so named after returning former Yoruba slaves from Latin America, who were mostly Catholic, and were also known as the Agudas, Saros or Amaros) started the race, followed by Protestants, whose prominent member- Church Mission Society (CMS) based in England made the most significant in-roads into the hinterland regions for evangelism and became the largest of the Christian missions. Methodists (known as Ijo-Eleto, so named after the Yoruba word for "method or process") started missions in Agbadarigi / Gbegle by Thomas Birch Freeman in 1842. Henry Townsend, C.C.Gollmer, and Ajayi Crowther of the CMS worked in Abeokuta, then under the Egba division of Southern Nigeria in 1846.
Hinderer and Mann of CMS started missions in Ibadan / Ibarapa and Ijaye divisions of the present Oyo state in 1853. The Baptist missionaries-Bowen and Clarke concentrated on the northern Yoruba axis-(Ogbomoso and environs). With their success, other religious groups- Salvation Army, Evangelists Commission of West Africa (ECWA) became popular among the Igbomina and other non-denominational Christian groups joined. The increased tempo of Christianity led to the appointment of Saros and indigenes as missionaries, this move was initiated by Venn, the CMS Secretary. Nevertheless, the impact of Christianity in Yoruba land was not felt until fourth decade of 19th century, when a Yoruba slave boy, Samuel Ajayi Crowther had become a Christian convert, linguist, whose knowledge in languages would become a major tool and instrument to propagate Christianity in Yoruba land and beyond.
Today, there are a number of Yoruba Pastors and Church founders with large congregations, e.g. Pastor Enoch Adeboye of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor David Oyedepo of Living Faith Church World Wide also known as Winners Chapel, Pastor Tunde Bakare of Latter rain Assembly, Prophet T. B. Joshua of Synagogue of All Nations, William Folorunso Kumuyi of Deeper Christian Life Ministry and Dr Daniel Olukoya of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries. The Yoruba are known for their love of privacy and respect for other ethnic groups - particularly around bigger cities such as Lagos and in Diasporan communities.
ISLAM
Islam came into Yorubaland centuries before Christianity and before the first Europeans ever set foot in Yorubaland. Yorubas first came in contact with Islam around the 14th century, as a result of trade with the Fulanis of the Malian Empire, during the reign of Mansa Kankan Musa. Hence, why Islam is traditionally known to the Yoruba as Esin Male or simply Imale i.e. religion of the Malians. On the other hand, another school of thought describes Imale as a compound form of the Yoruba phrase "imo lile" which literally means "hard knowledge".
This definition of the Islamic Religion is simply due to the way the adherents of the religion sought to spread Islam forcefully, thus the word "lile" in Yoruba which could also be translated as "with force". In fact, Islam was practiced in Yorubaland so early on in history, that a sizable proportion of Yoruba slaves taken to the Americas were already Muslim. Some of these Yoruba Muslims would later on stage the Malê Revolt (or The Great Revolt) which was the most significant slave rebellion in Brazil. On a Sunday during Ramadan in January 1835, in the city of Salvador, Bahia, a small group of slaves and freedmen, inspired by Muslim teachers, rose up against the government. Muslims were called Malê in Bahia at this time, from Yoruba Imale that designated a Yoruba Muslim.
According to Al-Aluri, the first Mosque was built in Ọyọ-Ile / Katunga in 1550 A.D. although, there were no Yoruba Muslims at the time, the Mosque served the spiritual needs of foreign Muslims living in Ọyọ. Progressively, Islam started to gain a foothold in Yorubaland, and Muslims started building Mosques: Iwo town led, its first Mosque built in 1655 followed by Iṣẹyin, in 1760; Eko/Lagos got its first mosque in 1774; Shaki, 1790; and Oṣogbo, 1889. In time, Islam spread to other towns like Oyo (the first Oyo convert was Solagberu), Ibadan, Abẹokuta, Ijebu Ode, Ikirun, and Ede, all already had sizable Muslim communities before the 19th century Sokoto jihad. Several factors contributed to the rise of Islam in Yoruba land by mid 19th century.
Before the decline of Ọyọ, several towns around it had large Muslim communities, however, when Ọyọ was destroyed, these Muslims (Yorubas and immigrants) relocated to newly formed towns and villages and became Islam protagonists.
Secondly, there was a mass movement of people at this time into Yoruba land, many of these immigrants were Muslims who introduced Islam to their hosts. According to Eades, the religion "differed in attraction" and "better adapted to Yoruba social structure, because it permitted polygamy", which was already a feature of various African societies; more influential Yorubas like (Seriki Kuku of Ijebu land) soon became Muslims with positive impact on the natives.
Islam came to Lagos at about the same time as other Yoruba towns, however, it received royal support from Ọba Kosọkọ, after he came back from exile in Ẹpẹ. Islam, like Christianity also found a common ground with the natives who already believed in a Supreme Being Olodumare / Olorun. Without delay, Islamic scholars and local Imams started establishing Koranic centers to teach Arabic and Islamic studies, much later, conventional schools were established to educate new converts and to propagate Islam.
Today, the Yorubas constitute the second largest Muslim group in Nigeria, after the Hausa people of the Northern provinces. They are mostly Sunni Muslims, with small Ahmadiyya communities.
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