Berkley Center

Nigeria’s complex religious landscape is intricately involved in wide-ranging issues for development and peace, yet views on how and why are sharply polarized. With a population (some 186 million in 2016) roughly equally divided between Muslims and Christians, interreligious relationships have repercussions across sectors and regions. Different conflicts have contested religious dimensions, as do wide-ranging peacebuilding efforts. Nigerians take pride in a history of religious tolerance, and religious actors’ involvement can be found across the full spectrum of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This project, a collaboration between the World Faiths Development Dialogue and the Berkley Center, aims to explore how faith-inspired organizations and religious leaders engage in the many facets of Nigeria’s development, mapping their involvement and particular challenges and opportunities.