Christianity in Nigeria

Christianity in Nigeria

This article relates to Before the Mango Ripens

Before the Mango Ripens by Afabwaje Kurian focuses on the tensions between residents of a Nigerian town and white American missionaries based there. The book's Nigerian characters have a widely diverse set of reactions to the church: some adamantly oppose Christianity and persecute their Christian family members, others go to church in hopes of personal gain, some are devout true believers, and still others combine their Christian faith with elements of indigenous religious beliefs, like household gods. Likewise, the entire history of Christianity in Nigeria is a nuanced one, and the faith's role in Nigerian society can't be attributed solely to the efforts of Western missionaries.

Initial attempts by Portuguese missionaries in the 15th century to Christianize what is now Nigeria were for the most part unsuccessful. Nevertheless, the area's Warri region was ruled by African Christians who had adopted the religion between 1570 and 1733. The arrival of Western missionaries from major denominations en masse in the 19th and 20th centuries paved the way for the presence of Christianity in Nigeria today.

Traditionally, most Nigerian Christians have been either Roman Catholic or Anglican due to the historical influence of these denominations. But in recent decades, homegrown churches have seen tremendous growth. Aladura churches, many of which formed during the 20th century, are churches that have broken away from Western-based religion to embrace a more indigenized spirituality, blending Christian doctrine with local elements like traditional healing and styles of worship. The spread of these churches has been so substantial that Nigerian denominations like the Christ Apostolic Church now have congregations in North America and Europe.

Currently, Christianity and Islam are the predominant religions in Nigeria, each accounting for nearly half of the country's population. Nigeria is one of the African countries with the highest number of Christians within its borders. While Western missionaries certainly played a role in the spread of Christianity in Nigeria, Nigerian Christians have turned the faith into something all their own.

A Catholic church in Lagos, Nigeria in 1917, via Picryl

Filed under Places, Cultures & Identities

This "beyond the book article" relates to Before the Mango Ripens. It originally ran in November 2024 and has been updated for the October 2025 paperback edition. Go to magazine.