Religion, History, and Politics in Nigeria: Essays in Honor of Ogbu U. Kalu

(Paperback)

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Religion, History, and Politics in Nigeria is concerned with the problematic nature of religion and politics in Nigerian history. The book provides a lively and straightforward treatment of the relationship among religion, politics, and history in Nigeria, and how it affects public life today. By adopting various cultural, historical, political, and sociological perspectives, the text's contributors provide an excellent introduction to the volatile mix of religion and politics in Nigerian history, as well as a range of strategic choices open to religious adherents. The complexity of the relationship among religion, history, and politics is organized around four themes: indigenous values and the influence of Islam and Christianity, colonialism and religious transformation, the religious landscape of the post-colonial period, and the rise of evangelism and fundamentalism. The volume provides an insightful guide to contemporary history, contemporary religion, and contemporary politics, enabling the reader to reach informed and balanced judgments about the role in religion in Nigerian history and politics. This opens the door for serious examination and debate, and will be excellent for use by the general reader and in political science, history, and religion courses.

Reviews

A timely contribution....The book is a collection of well-researched chapters with important lessons for understanding and consolidating the Nigerian state. -- M.H.A. Bolaji, 2008 * African Affairs *
The contributors use multiple genres, perspectives, and new historiography to examine the interplay of politics and religion in Nigeria and how it affects public life today. Recent studies on the subject tend to exclude the existence of indigenous religions in Nigeria by focusing on the significant impact of Christianity and Islam in shaping the history and poltics there. The strength of this book is that it fills a void by bringing these themes together in a single volume. It is a must-read for those interested in understanding the 'relationship amongst evangelism, cultural forces, and economic imperatives in the age of globalization.' Summing Up: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. General readers as well as academic audiences, lower-division undergraduate through faculty. * Choice Reviews *

Author Bio

Chima J. Korieh is Assistant Professor of African History at Rowan University, and holds a Ph.D. in History from the University of Toronto. G. Ugo Nwokeji is Assistant Professor of African and African Diaspora History at the University of California-Berkeley, and holds a Ph.D. in History from the University of Toronto.