The Abduction of God and the Quest for Sustainable Development in the Nigerian Multi-religious Milieu

Abstract

As a multi-religious society, Nigeria is ensnared with the quagmire of religious violence resulting from the rivalry, most especially, between the dominant religions i.e. Christianity and Islam in the country. Each of these two dominating religions attempts to forcefully confine God within the ambient of its traditions, and the resultant perennial rivalry among the adherents of these religions in Nigeria is not without its implication on inter-religious relation and the quest for sustainable development. The thrust of this study, therefore, is to interrogate the effects of God’s abduction by each of the two dominant religions in Nigeria on inter-religious relation and its attendant implication for the quest for sustainable development in the multi-religious country. The “abduction of God” in this context is a figurative description of the inherent tendency of exclusivism associated with each of the two dominant religions in Nigeria. The paper employed functionalism, descriptive and historical approaches to appraise the effects of religious exclusivism on interreligious relation and the attendant influence on the quest for sustainable development in Nigeria. The secondary method was employed to elicit information. The attempt to forcefully confine God within the ambient of a particular religious tradition through the claim of ideological absoluteness by each of the two major religions in Nigeria is responsible for the perennial inter-religious conflict that is threatening sustainable development. The paper therefore recommends preclusion of religious absoluteness by the adherents of the major religions towards engendering sustainable development in Nigeria.

Keywords: Abduction of God, Interreligious Relation, Dominant Religions, Sustainable Development, Nigeria