Religion and Politics in Nigeria

This is a study of African Christians and European missionaries in the period of rapid political change leading to independence in Nigeria. It was a time of intense political rivalry between religious and ethnic groups and of minority communities. Most important were the Nigerian Christians, aided by European missionaries, who resisted possible domination by the Muslim elite - thought to be traditionally favoured by the British administration - in a strongly Muslim region. Urgency was lent by the coming of independence. The study concentrates on the activities of the Danish branch of the Sudan United Mission (SUM) in Adamawa Province between 1940 and 1960 but the pattern of inter-ethnic and religious rivalry was to be repeated nationwide. Another vibrant theme was the emergence of a Christian, westernized and bureaucratic elite - a new political class opposed to the traditional Muslim-Fulani rulers. The book is not another study of the "missionary factor" in African politics, about the emergence of a Christian elite in African politics; it is a study of the role of the missions and the churches, both European and African, in the culture, history and politics of African independence. It is both a religious history of politics and political history of religion.