Most citizens express tolerant attitudes toward people of other religions.
Key findings
- Six in 10 Nigerians (60%) say they trust religious leaders "somewhat" or "a lot," compared to 27% who say the same about their president and 19% who trust Parliament. o Trust levels are highest among citizens with no formal education (82%), Muslims (77%), and rural residents (67%).
- One-fourth (26%) of citizens think that "most" or "all" religious leaders are corrupt.
- Tolerance toward other religions is high: More than eight in 10 respondents (83%) say they would "strongly like," would "somewhat like," or "would not care" if they lived next door to people of a different religion.
- But trust across religious groups is significantly lower: Only half (51%) of respondents say they trust members of other faiths "somewhat" or "a lot." o And such trust differs enormously according to religion: Seven in 10 Muslims (70%) say they trust non-Muslims, compared to just 37% of Christians who trust practitioners of other religions.
- About one in 10 Nigerians (11%) say members of their religion are "often" or "always" treated unfairly by the government, in addition to 23% who report that this happens "sometimes."
- Almost two-thirds (63%) of Nigerians say that freedom of religion should be absolute, barring the government from intervening in religious practices. One-third (34%) think the government should have the power to regulate what is said in places of worship.
- More than six in 10 citizens (62%) believe that in spite of ethnic, religious, cultural, and political differences, there is more that unites Nigerians than there is that divides them.
- Large majorities of both Muslims (77%) and Christians (68%) say that communities are stronger when they are made up of people from different ethnic groups, races, or religions.
Faith and religion are central to Nigerian life. In its 2015 survey, Afrobarometer found that more than 70% of Nigerians said they practiced their religion at least several times a week. Christianity (50%) and Islam (48%) are the most widely practiced faiths in the country (U.S. Department of State, 2022).
Although the Nigerian Constitution protects citizens' right to freedom of religion or belief, critics say violations by state and non-state actors are common, including the imposition of shari'a law on non-Muslims, abductions and executions of citizens based on their religious affiliation, and discrimination against religious minorities (such as Muslims living in predominantly Christian areas and vice versa (Williams, 2022).
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Often citizens rely on religious leaders, rather than secular authorities, to address these issues by serving as peace ambassadors and mediators (Punch, 2023, 2024). Because they lead large congregations in mosques and churches, they can potentially shape the attitudes, opinions, and behaviours of millions of Nigerians.
Given the importance of religion and religious leaders in Nigerian society, this dispatch provides a snapshot of how different groups in society view religious leaders and how tolerant citizens are toward people of different religious backgrounds.
Survey findings reveal that religious leaders are more widely trusted and less widely seen as corrupt than key public institutions. But trust varies significantly by citizens' religion, education level, and location.
While tolerance toward people from other religious backgrounds is high, trust in them is lower. About one in 10 Nigerians say members of their religion are "often" or "always" treated unfairly by the government. But large majorities say that there is more that unites Nigerians than divides them and that communities are made stronger by diversity.
Raphael Mbaegbu Raphael is a project manager for NOI Polls
