Christianity around the world

Christianity in Nigeria

Nigeria is home to one of the largest Christian populations in the world. The faith took root through nineteenth-century missions, carried in part by freed African slaves such as Samuel Ajayi Crowther, the first African Anglican bishop, and spread widely through the south. In the twentieth century, African-founded independent churches and a great wave of Pentecostal and charismatic Christianity made Nigeria a global center of the faith. Today Nigeria is home to tens of millions of Christians, roughly half the country, mostly in the south and the middle belt.

How Christianity developed in Nigeria

Sustained Christianity came to what is now Nigeria in the nineteenth century. A striking part of the story is that much of the early witness was carried by Africans themselves. Samuel Ajayi Crowther, a Yoruba man who had been captured and freed from a slave ship, became a gifted linguist, translated Scripture into Yoruba, and in 1864 was consecrated the first African Anglican bishop. Missionaries and African evangelists spread the faith through Yorubaland, the Niger Delta, and Igboland, founding churches, schools, and hospitals.

In the twentieth century Nigerian Christianity became strongly indigenous and expressive. African-founded Aladura and independent churches arose, and from the later twentieth century a vast Pentecostal and charismatic movement grew, with some of the largest congregations and gatherings in the world. Nigerian churches now send missionaries and plant congregations across Africa, Europe, and the Americas.

The church here today

Nigeria is roughly half Christian and half Muslim, with Christians concentrated in the south and the middle belt and Muslims in the north. Nigerian Christianity spans Catholic, Anglican, and other historic churches alongside enormous Pentecostal and independent movements. The faith is public, musical, and fervent. In parts of the north and middle belt, Christians have suffered violence and persecution, and yet the church continues to grow and to carry hope.

If you are seeking here

If you are living in Nigeria or part of the Nigerian diaspora and quietly wondering about Jesus, you are not alone, and you are welcome. Faith is not a nationality or a family tradition you are locked into or out of; it begins wherever one person turns to Christ and asks. You can start today by reading a Gospel, by praying honestly in your own words, and by finding a community that follows Jesus near you.

Frequently asked questions

How did Christianity develop in Nigeria?

Through nineteenth-century missions, carried in part by freed African slaves such as Samuel Ajayi Crowther, the first African Anglican bishop, and spread through the south, followed by a great twentieth-century Pentecostal wave.

Who was Samuel Ajayi Crowther?

A Yoruba man freed from a slave ship who became a gifted linguist, translated Scripture into Yoruba, and in 1864 was consecrated the first African Anglican bishop, a key figure in Nigerian Christianity.

How many Christians are in Nigeria?

Nigeria has one of the largest Christian populations in the world, roughly half the country, concentrated in the south and middle belt, spanning historic churches and large Pentecostal movements.