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Christians in Nigeria comprise between 50% and 67.4% of the population. Christians are dominant in the southern and central region in Nigeria. According to the Pew Research Center, Nigeria has the largest Christian population of any country in Africa, with more than 85 million persons in Nigeria belonging to the church with various denominations. The numbers of Christians in Nigeria has grown from 21.4% in 1953 to 49.3% in 2010.
Contents
- Roman Catholicism in Nigeria
- Anglican Church of Nigeria
- Nigerian Baptist Convention
- Presbyterian Church of Nigeria
- Evangelical Reformed Church of Christ
- Nontrinitarian groups
- National Church of Nigeria Abuja
- Anti Christian violence by Muslims
- References
Since the introduction of Sharia penal law in some of the Northern states, violence towards non-Muslims has increased in the North. In spite of this, a 2015 study estimates some 600,000 believers in Christ are from a Muslim background living in the country.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) announced creation of new Owerri mission in Nigeria in 2016.
Roman Catholicism in Nigeria
The Catholic Church has a large and growing following in Nigeria. In 2005, there were an estimated 19 million baptised Catholics in Nigeria. The Archdioceses of the Roman Catholic Church are: Abuja, Benin City, Calabar, Ibadan, Jos, Kaduna, Lagos, Onitsha, Owerri and Sokoto. Cardinal Francis Arinze is a Roman Catholic Cardinal from Nigeria.
Anglican Church of Nigeria
The ecclesiastical provinces of the Church of Nigeria are Lagos, Ibadan, Ondo, Edo, The Niger, Niger Delta, Owerri, Abuja, Kaduna and Jos. Its primate is Nicholas Dikeriehi Orogodo Okoh. The Church of Nigeria claims about 18 million members though only about 2 million may be active.
Nigerian Baptist Convention
The Nigerian Baptist Convention has about 6 million baptized members.
Presbyterian Church of Nigeria
The Presbyterian Church of Nigeria has almost 4,000 000 members in thousands of congregations mainly in Nigeria, but has regional Presbytery in Togo as well as in Benin. It was founded in the mid-1800s, by ministers of the Church of Scotland. It is a member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches.
Evangelical Reformed Church of Christ
The Evangelical Reformed Church of Christ was formed in Nasarawa State in 8 July 1916. The church has approximately 1,5 million members.
Nontrinitarian groups
Within Nigeria, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also has a growing presence. As of January 1, 2012, the church claims more than 100,000 members in the country and has established 315 congregations.
In 1970, 87,000 Jehovah's Witnesses were present in Nigeria, which grew to more than 360,000 by 2014.
The New Apostolic Church reports for 2016 300.000 members in 1.100 congregations.
National Church of Nigeria, Abuja
The National Church of Nigeria (previously known as the Nigerian Ecumenical Centre and officially known as the National Christian Centre) is a non-denominational church building of the Christian Association of Nigeria, the umbrella body of all of Nigeria's Christian churches. The church is located in Abuja.
Anti-Christian violence by Muslims
Since the introduction of Sharia penal law in some of the Northern states, violence towards non-Muslims has increased. Relations with Muslims have been strained, killings of Christians have been rampant since at least 1999, and there have been other harsh acts committed towards them The 2010 Jos riots saw clashes between Muslim herders against Christian farmers near the volatile city of Jos, resulting in hundreds of casualties on both sides. Officials estimated that 500 people were massacred in night-time raids by rampaging Muslim gangs.
In March 2010 the clashes resulted in the death of at least 200 people, most of them Christians. In similar clashes in 2008, more than 300 were killed. Also, on Christmas Day in 2011, the Islamist sect Boko Haram bombed a catholic church near the nation's capital Abuja killing over 30 people. The BBC reported that on Christmas Eve 2012 six Christians were killed and their church burned down. No group had claimed responsibility for the attack but the broadcaster drew comparisons with similar attacks carried out by Boko Haram at the same time in 2011.