Nollywood actress and media personality Ariyike Owolagba, popularly known as Ariyike Dimples, recently shared a personal experience that led her to step away from attending church.
In a conversation on the ‘Open Up’ podcast, Ariyike revealed that she stopped going to church for three years after a church elder criticized her choice of attire. She recalled being told that wearing a pencil skirt to church was inappropriate and could condemn her to hell, as the elder deemed it indecent.
Despite this experience, Ariyike Dimples emphasized that she continues to practice her Christian faith, even though she no longer attends church regularly.
She said, “In my community church, you see only elderly people. You barely see the young ones. The young ones have gone to other churches. It was too serious. Yes, you can have your doctrines, but there is a way you can simplify it for young people and take them in without judging them.
“The reason I stopped going to church was because I wore a pencil skirt to church and an elderly woman said I will go to hell fire. I was shocked and felt wrongly judged so I stopped going to church for 3 years. And thankfully, I was already out of my parents’ house.
“The woman reported me to my dad. I had to take picture of the skirt and send to my mum to prove that I wasn’t dressing indecently. But my dad believed in the ideology of a community raising a child. So, I chose to avoid the community church so that they won’t see me.”