He was a mathematics professor at the University of Lagos before going on to found the Deeper Life Bible Church. Also, it isn’t uncommon to see official gatherings being commenced with prayer. Christianity. The incursion of colonial masters into the entity we now call Nigeria brought Christianity to the people. Nigerian Army forces man a checkpoint to protect Sunday Christian prayer services in Sokoto, Nigeria on April 14, 2013, where less than 5 percent of the population is Christian. According to various researchers, denominationalism is one of the worst divisive elements in modern Africa. But they were unable to convert the kings and traditional rulers as these leaders were only interested in the guns and mirrors the Europeans offered them. As more Christians were persecuted, more virgin mission fields were discovered. “The British military expansion into Northern Nigeria introduced Christianity to a region which had experienced over five hundred years of Islam; hence, there were religion-based skirmishes between the Muslims and the [invading] British Christians. READ ALSO: Colonialism in Nigeria: positive and negative impacts, Leave your email to receive our newsletter, Get the hottest stories from the largest news site in Nigeria, Drop your mail and be the first to get fresh news, This was the man who developed African writing system which the colonial masters destroyed (photos). According to a 2010 survey conducted by the Pew Forum, Nigeria’s population has both Christians and Muslims in a nearly equal ratio, with a small percentage of the population following other religious beliefs such as indigenous faiths and no affiliations at all. Because while it was the Kingdom of God that Jesus that brought, Christianity is what man has made of the Kingdom of God that Jesus brought to bring it down to his level. Based on these stats, most Nigerian Christians are Protestants. Apart from Benin and Warri, which had come in contact with Christianity through the Portuguese as early as the fifteenth century, most missionaries arrived by sea in the nineteenth century. Their mission to the Kingdom of Benin was not very fruitful, as, once again, the king was not all that interested in a new religion. According to local Nigerian media reports, six girls and two staff members of a Christian high school in the north-central part of the country have been released after a … Christianity was the platform through which Western education was implemented. The majority of Christians were found in the south. Its foundation was laid by Reverend Andrew Desalu Wilhelm, and it was completed in 1898. Buhari's predecessor -- Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian from the country's South -- broke that pattern by occupying the office for more than one term. In 1986, David Oyedepo founded Living Faith Church which is popularly known as Winners Chapel. They came into cities like Benin and Warri where they preached Christianity. The church served as a rallying point for a number of Christian missionaries who brought Christianity into Abeokuta at the time. Nigeria’s 206 million people are almost evenly divided between Muslims and Christians. What is really horrible, is the Media that does not make an effort to get this out to the public. Mark the Evangelist made history in the year 43 when he became the first bishop to serve in the Orthodox Church of Alexandria. We hope you have learnt some history in our brief history of Christianity in Nigeria in its early days. This is has been partly due to a new type of churches called the mega churches. For Nigerians, as well as other people in Africa, this felt very alien. Based on these stats, most Nigerian Christians are Protestants. Since 2015, the Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust estimates that more than 6,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria (1,000 in 2019 alone) and thousands have been displaced from their homes. These include churches like the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Winners’ Chapel, Christ Apostolic Church (the first Aladura Movement in Nigeria), Deeper Christian Life Ministry… Muslims make up 48.8% of the country’s population while Christians add up to 49.3%. Some local Pentecostal churches also sprung up, these include the Celestial Church of Christ which arrived in western Nigeria from Benin to become one of Africa’s largest Aladura churches. Before European colonization, the Igbo lived in autonomous local communities, but by the mid-20th century a sense of ethnic identity was strongly developed. Currently, the Southern part of the country is dominated by Christians while the Northern part is composed of predominantly Muslims. Nigerian Army forces man a checkpoint to protect Sunday Christian prayer services in Sokoto, Nigeria on April 14, 2013, where less than 5 percent of the population is Christian. The origin of Christianity in the world can be traced to the Middle East. Christianity has influenced different spheres of the country. Nevertheless, over the next few centuries, Christianity found its rightful place in Nigeria, albeit with some added regional differences. For Christians, the logic is that without a birth, there would be no death. At best, they simply disregarded them as something lesser. “The British military expansion into Northern Nigeria introduced Christianity to a region which had experienced over five hundred years of Islam; hence, there were religion-based skirmishes between the Muslims and the [invading] British Christians. “Is Nigeria truly one country? Thus, the advent of colonial masters led to the introduction of a new religion, Christianity, which is added to the two available religions, African traditional religion already exiting then. The education provided by the missionaries was also instrumental in converting a good number of slaves to Christianity. One of the most popular preachers during this period was Joseph Babalola of Faith Tabernacle. Read on to see more things you should know about being a Christian in Ghana. In the 17th century, the Roman Catholic missionaries found their way to Nigeria. This new religion of Christianity began by trying to control its converts. A Nigerian civil society group estimates that 1,202 Christians have been killed in Nigeria in the first six months of 2020 by jihadists, radicalized herdsmen and others as 22 more Christians were reportedly killed in the Kaduna state last weekend. The mega church syndrome can be traced to 1910 when a local charismatic movement led by an Anglican deacon split from the Anglican church to become the Christ Army Church. After World War I, Who Introduced Christianity in Ghana? Since military rule ended in Nigeria in 1999, the country's presidency has typically alternated between a Christian Southerner and a Muslim Northerner. READ ALSO: Major types of religion in Nigeria. The missionaries, however, did not leave long enough to tell the tale, as most of them were struck down by malaria. [5] Nigeria has one of the largest Christian population in Africa with over 70 million persons in Nigeria belonging to the church. Over 11,500 Christians have been murdered in Nigeria since June 2015, Genocide Watch reported in April. At least the first storey building in Nigeria is located there and it was built by the missionaries, acclaimed to have brought Christianity to Nigeria. They were used to their own ways of praising their own gods, so they did not feel like they could express themselves in Christianity as they could with their traditional religions. Christians in Nigeria should resolve that for every Christian killed, five people who have not known Christ must be brought to the saving knowledge of Christ. Reportedly, the city boasted a very large Jewish community, which was located in close proximity to Jerusalem. Over the next two decades, foreign Pentecostal churches began to plant branches in Nigeria. A few decades later, other Portuguese missionaries tried to turn the people from Kingdom of Benin and Itsekiri Kingdom to Christianity. Nigeria 45.9% Togo 42.6%. When one begins to look at the history of Christianity in Nigeria, one might expect to find its origins in Europeans bringing this new religion across to Africa. Do you want to know more about these ten most powerful pastors in the world? In 1953, the percentage of the Christian population was 21.4% and that percentage has doubled to over 50% with over 75 million Christians in Nigeria. Gatestone Institute. The Establishment of Christian Missions in Nigeria The Christian Church took its origin from Jerusalem, the historic capital city of Israel. They are presently the least influenced by traditional religious beliefs. Christianity brought western ideas with it and the modernization associated with the religion caused an increased preference for jobs among the people from agriculture to white collar jobs. The Catholic Church has an increase of followers in Nigeria. For them, religion was something ingrained in their lives. One of the reasons why most of the missionary attempts failed in Nigeria was because of the way missionaries presented Christianity. In 1964, he became the first black Bishop of the Anglican Communion. The remaining 1.9% are either practitioners of indigenous religions or no affiliations. These churches were characterized by fervent prayer styles, known by the Yoruba word Aladura (praying people). Some religious scholars believe that Christianity was introduced to Africans by way of the Egyptian city of Alexandria. Nigeria 45.9% Togo 42.6%. Also, the Foursquare Gospel Church was also introduced in Nigeria at the same time. Nigeria is becoming the “biggest killing ground of Christians in the world” due to attacks by Boko Haram and Fulani militants, says a leading charity. By the middle of the nineteenth century, Africans had begun to follow the ideas of Christianity. Islam is the dominant faith in the North, and Christianity in the South. The school system introduced people in the country to new ideologies, which spanned across different areas of human existence. Missionaries hoped that their dedicated hearts would be enough to convert the people of Africa. The incursion of colonial masters into the entity we now call Nigeria brought Christianity to the people. Since 2015, the Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust estimates that more than 6,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria (1,000 in 2019 alone) and thousands have been displaced from their homes. These traditional practices were integral to culture and as a result Christianity faced some resistance. Bishop Ajayi Crowther was a slave taken from Nigeria. At least the first storey building in Nigeria is located there and it was built by the missionaries, acclaimed to have brought Christianity to Nigeria. You might be surprised by what history has in store. These include churches like the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Winners’ Chapel, Christ Apostolic Church (the first Aladura Movement in Nigeria), Deeper Christian Life Ministry… Additionally, Crowther was a pioneer of local Christian missionary work in the country and he was pivotal in the translation of the Bible into Yoruba language. These workers often came with little or no education beyond religious instruction. Prior to the “Caliphate movement” and the “colonial era”, which brought Islam and Christianity (to Nigeria) respectively, there is only a single religion in practice – the traditional religion. Although there were attempts made to bring European Christianity into the western part of Africa in the 15th and 16th centuries, the real success of the "modern expansion" began with freed Christian slaves who began to return to western Africa towards the end of the eighteenth century. The first church in Nigeria is the Cathedral Church of St. Peter, Ake, Abeokuta. The ignored slaughter of Christians in the Middle East, in particular, Nigeria, is beyond words. Cardinal Francis Arinze is a Roman Catholic Cardinal from Nigeria. On the other hand, the mission to Itsekiri Kingdom proved to be more successful. The church served as a rallying point for a number of Christian missionaries who brought Christianity into Abeokuta at the time. These include Daystar Christian Centre, Covenant Christian Centre, House on the Rock and Commonwealth of Zion Assembly (COZA). There are also some new generation churches that are popular in Lagos and many other major cities in the country. What early mission minded workers failed to comprehend were the problems, which were bound to arise out of Africans hearing and accepting this new religion. The ignored slaughter of Christians in the Middle East, in particular, Nigeria, is beyond words. The reason for that of course is Islam. At the initial stage of Christianity, many of the traditional practices such as polyygamy, blood pacts, oath swearing, divination etc were declared as taboos. The Hausa people are one of the predominant Nigerian tribes but are now mostly representatives of Islam religion. Nigeria (MNN) — While hundreds of abducted Nigerian school boys are now safe, believers are on ‘full alert’ following last week’s threat from Boko Haram. Nigeria Table of Contents. These were the native people of West Africa that returned to their homes bearing the knowledge of God and gospel. Its foundation was laid by Reverend Andrew Desalu Wilhelm, and it was completed in 1898. As with other areas in Africa, Roman Catholics and Anglicans each tended to establish areas of hegemony in southern Nigeria. Thus, through the work of Evwaire, Utuedon, Emadu and … slaves who became a Christian in Sierra-Leone and later joined the Anglican mission to Nigeria was a Nigerian from the Yoruba extraction. Currently, the prominent churches in Nigeria include The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Deeper Life Bible Church, Living Faith Church (Winners’ Chapel), Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries and Christ Embassy. The Christian populace is made up of Protestant (30.6%), Unspecified Christians (10.8%), Roman Catholics (10.0%) and other Christians (0.5%). For instance, when Portugal’s Henry the Navigator tried to carry out his exploratio… Igbo (Ibo), people living chiefly in southeastern Nigeria who speak Igbo, a language of the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo language family. Slave trade in Nigeria, destroyed a lot of families, ruined the Nigerian economy, decentralized societies at large and hunger and famine was not left out. Slavery in Nigeria (Summary) Taken together, all evidence presented shows that slave trade in Nigeria had adverse effects on the captives and also on the society at … They baptised him and gave him a Christian name Sebastian. The African Story: Amazing Growth, Unthinkable Persecution In the 20th century alone, there have been some 1.8 million Christian martyrs in Africa. She is Madam Emadu, who in the course of her travels embraced Christianity in Obiaruku. The reason for that of course is Islam. However, that is a story for another time. Christians live predominantly in the South; Muslims are the majority in the North. Since military rule ended in Nigeria in 1999, the country's presidency has typically alternated between a Christian Southerner and a Muslim Northerner. “[Yet] this news brought sadness to my heart as I thought about many Christians who are still in captivity. 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