Nigerian singer Seyi Shay recently opened up about why she made the decision to stop going to her former church.

According to her, one of the church leaders suggested that members should stop singing modern gospel songs and instead focus on old Christian hymns that come directly from the Bible.

Seyi found this suggestion troubling. She questioned how anyone could feel spiritually uplifted by hymns that were written by slave owners—songs that were forced on Africans for generations during times of great suffering.

She used the opportunity to urge Christians to do some research before singing old hymns. In her view, blindly following traditions without knowing their history is not a godly act.

Sharing more on her Instagram story, Seyi recalled the church leader saying they needed to return to traditional hymns and stop singing modern praise and worship songs.

In response, Seyi Shay said she stopped attending that church right away. She explained that it didn’t make sense to her to sing songs created by people who hurt and oppressed her ancestors. She emphasized the importance of understanding the roots of the songs we sing in worship, saying, “Ignorance is not Godly.”